By Ben H. Rome
DSC_9921, courtesy of juan.barredo
Two items of interest today for commuters on both sides of the Potomac: Tysons Corner and MARC.
Tysons Corner. It’s a name that sends shivers up most North Virginian commuters’ spines. Notorious for traffic flow “issues” and the spawning of language more suitable for “R” rated movies, the Tysons area is one big, over-bloated, dysfunctional urban mess.
So can it be fixed? Is it really possible to make Tysons a more commuter- and pedestrian-friendly place to be?
By Wayan
Nationals Stadium Stairs - Already Crumbling
Look at the close-up of these stairs. Note the grip tape at the edge of the steps is already almost gone. And that the star itself has a large crack in it. These would be Nationals Stadium stairs. Wait, let me describe them better:
These are $611 million dollar stairs less than an year old. And they’re already falling apart.
Now you know why the Lerners are withholding payments from the city. I wouldn’t pay a builder if their work was this bad too. I would pay for better shoes though – that would be a whole other stadium attendee.
By Brittany
Thanks to our blog-friends at YESORNO, I read about this silly article that appears in the current issue of W Magazine.
One of the worst pieces of writing about D.C. ever to be drafted on napkins in the Condé Nast cafeteria, it claims that nightlife in Washington is cleaved in twain, with young republican prepsters at Smith Point on one side and “hipster” (by which, oddly, they seem to mean “ethnically diverse,” but that interesting use of poetic license may be among the least of the factual errors in the piece) progressives at Local 16 on the other.
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By brownpau
I saw this pinned to the corkboard while getting lunch at Five Guys in Georgetown. If you don’t get it, you don’t want or need to know. Really.
By Tom Bridge
The Smithsonian’s amazing museums are instantly familiar to all of us, but their educational programming isn’t quite as popular. Though, now you can get it on iTunes for cheap. $1.99 for 45 minutes to an hour-plus education program? Not a shabby deal. They’ve got four series: Kids, America’s Stories, History and Natural Wonders. Go give it a look, this could be perfect for those of you with an iPod and a longer commute.
By Jenn Larsen
With the wine bar trend in full escalation (Proof, Veritas, Vinoteca, Cork, Enology, etc.), it appears we may now be heading into a dessert bar phase. While artisan chocolate cafes like ACKC and bakery empires like Cakelove provide the basics, Co Co. Sala pushes the sweet stuff into high art. If only it weren’t so high octave… it’s an intimate, sexy space but it isn’t exactly conducive to whispering sweet nothings. Upon entering, I spied a white feather boa draped behind a gaggle of celebrating women at the bar. As their decibel level threatened my mellow mood, I wondered, “does chocolate bar = screeching estrogen?”
But restaurants can’t completely control their clientele. If you worship at the altar of cacao, Co Co. Sala deserves a taste. Just be prepared for a bit of a scene. And after knocking back a “Disia” – their lychee rose cocktail that tastes like Aphrodite’s elixir – I was mellow again and ready to give an entire chocolate dinner a try.
By Tom Bridge
So, you might be a fan of Brittany’s awesome District Mixtape series of columns that we’ve been putting up. The idea is an age-old one, written about by novelists, charted by all the pop-trend-watchers, and beloved by anyone old than about 25 and younger than about 50. The age of the cassette tape mix was a golden one for music. 60 minutes of space, two cassette decks, a steady trigger finger, and a lot of love. If you want an excellent read about this stuff, grab Love is a Mixtape.
So, it’s with no small amount of sadness that this is what I saw this morning when I went to listen to Brittany’s latest concoction:
The RIAA shut them down. Probably for something like the Royalty Problem that is also potentially about to shutter Pandora. So, I’m a bit bummed today. We’ve (temporarily) lost a great tool for publishing our feature, (don’t worry, we’ll figure out how to get around it somehow.) but it seems doubly unfortunate that they went after this one.
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By brownpau
Quick update on the Foggy Bottom Metro escalators: Friday’s mess was the result of a passenger’s footwear getting stuck on the middle escalator that afternoon, closing it down in addition to the already-under-repair first escalator, so that only one escalator was left open to serve as stairs. As of today, two escalators are open but shut down, both serving as stairs. Continue reading
By Brittany
We Were Pirates
Mike Boggs is the creative force behind We Were Pirates. He plays shows under the name with other musicians, but crafted the whole of his EP “The Wolf” on his laptop with two mics and himself. Currently, We Were Pirates is focusing on a full-length album to be recorded in the studio built in Boggs’ garage. We were delighted when the life-long area resident agreed to prepare a mixtape for us! — Brittany
So, The Ode to DC mix consists entirely of songs I am fond of by dc bands, bands with members from DC, songs about DC or songs that are heavily influenced by the “DC sound”
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By Tom Bridge
Sticky Rice Restaurant
Originally uploaded by RSchley
While DC Restaurant Week is technically over, DC Foodies has a long list of restaurants extending their deal. Spezie, Dino, Beacon Bar & Grill, and PS 7, amongst others, are extending the deal through the end of August. Enjoy!
By Tom Bridge
The geographically-based super-engine EveryBlock has finally come to DC. Think of EveryBlock like the best mashup of Flickr, Google Maps, The Public Records Office, MPD’s Crime Blotter, the Real Estate Section of the paper, and just about every news story out there in the District, whether it comes from Blogs, or from the Post or Examiner, or from the local TV affiliates, EveryBlock is there.
It’s all one big map, and they’re all over the geolocation of various events:
This map gives me a listing of real estate around the Brightwood neighborhood. Just a click away in the Crimes listing, or the Calls for City Services, or the Business Reviews.
It’s pretty impressive. Go play!
Sculpture Garden & National Archives
Originally uploaded by NCinDC
Unfortunately, my friends, August is returning, bringing back the heat and humidity I have learned to… um, tolerate?
I think one of the greatest unsung pleasures of summer in DC is the fact that you can splash your feet in the Sculpture Garden fountain with impunity, and not feel gross about it. Which, by the way, is more than we can say for certain other water-based DC landmarks. This is one of my favorite things to do during a hot, nasty day of walking around the Mall in the height of summer.
By Tom Bridge
The rule is, according to the Hatch Act, it’s against the law for someone in a government uniform to partake in political behavior. Essentially, that’s exactly what seems to have happened in an ad for Councilman Jack Evans, which features the councilman in a photo op with Chief Lanier. If the photo was staged by Evans with Lanier’s permission for use in his campaign, it’s likely a violation of the Hatch Act.
By Tom Bridge
The Redskins are doing their best to impress this pre-season, racking up their third win on Saturday night against the Jets, 13-10, in New York. Soap-opera star, er, quarterback Colt Brennan was impressive for the ‘Skins, leading a fourth-quarter rally to push us over the top. The big story, unfortunately, was that Brett Favre started for the Jets, and that seems to be all anyone can talk about. It’s fine, though, fortunately his presence overshadowed the Skins disappointing performance from their starters. It definitely was the bench that won this game for them.
One little tidbit out of ESPN before we head on to DC United, apparently there’s talk of Usain Bolt heading to the NFL as a receiver. Dan Snyder, if you’re listening, get this guy now. It’d be hilarious to see cornerbacks try to cover the fastest man in the world.
On to United and the Nationals, below the cut.
By Tom Bridge
Today on the Kojo Nnamdi show, Marion Barry (Ward 8, Mayor for Life) will be defending his elected position against those who would seek to dethrone the king. The show description reads thus:
The presidential campaign may get all the attention, but Washington, D.C. is also preparing for a full slate of local primaries on September 9. And nowhere has that election generated as much candidate interest than in Ward 8, where a crowded field is challenging an influential incumbent. We’ll meet the candidates and talk with them about the most pressing issues facing their community.
Go get’em Marion! You can listen in live via Windows Media Player or Real Player or iTunes streaming through WAMU’s live streaming.
By brownpau
Heads-up to those of you who were hoping for a nice, relaxing wade in the cool, green, avian botulism-infected waters of the Capitol Reflecting Pool: the National Park Service has drained the Pool till Aug 29th. NPS had considered draining as a quick, immediate protective measure to wildlife — cheaper and faster than installing a water circulation and filtering system, but not quite as aesthetically pleasing. It looks like they went ahead with the draining plan, or perhaps it coincided with what the sign on the fence says is a “routine cleansing.” It’s ugly, but less so, I guess, than piles of duck corpses.
By brownpau
Foggy Bottom Metro escalators have done it again, this time at the height of the Friday afternoon rush, and I have once again gotten video of the mess:
Last time this happened, only one escalator was barricaded, so desperate riders could at least scamper up the opposing escalator. Today, two were blocked, so only one shut-down escalator was available to serve as narrow stairs for both ascending and descending foot traffic. The result: crowds above and below. Epic fail once more.
Metro police and station personnel were on hand to do what little they could, but that didn’t seem to do much to thin the mass of people. And, as before — after taking this video, I didn’t bother waiting in line; it was faster to just walk the two blocks to Farragut West Station.
This is pretty bad, WMATA. Why have escalators at all if your contractors can’t even maintain them?
By Jonathan
A friend and I were returning from lunch yesterday when we noticed this little item in Alexandria.
Look closely. (The answer to the riddle is past the break…) Continue reading
By Don
Si aún no tiene otros planes esta noche puede que quiera ir a ver El Vez, el imitador de Elvis mexicano.
The Black Cat, 9pm Friday Aug 15th.
1811 14th St, NW
By Jonathan
I’ve always wondered what United Airlines did to deserve their treatment at Dulles Airport. I mean, really, you guys have the worst terminal in the airport. No, not sort of. They put you out in ghetto, trailer park, bus stations look better than this, terminal. I don’t know what you did (okay, I can imagine a few dozen things) but the travelers are really paying for your sins.
For anyone who has been to Dulles, there are actually two airports out there. The first, relatively nice, airport is the newly expanded A & B terminal. Getting there is a snap. Come out of the security gates and head towards the brand new tunnel. No shuttle buses for you – those are reserved for the low class section. A long set of escalators in each direction, and some moving walkways, and you emerge in to the Dulles equivalent of airport heaven.
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