Monthly Archives: June 2009

Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Night Life, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District
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It’s Our Party, We’ll <3 DC If We Wanna

Photo courtesy of
‘Hearts on Yellow Wall’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’

Hey! The coolest people in DC all have plans on Wednesday night, July 1st. They’ll all be hanging out at the Science Club, celebrating the first birthday of this here blog. And you’ll be there, right? Of course you will, cause you’re a mighty cool kid!

In addition to some cheap libations, you’ll get to pose in our hawt photo booth, donate to Bread in the City, and scarf the unofficial food of We Love DC, the veggie burger. You’ll also get to meet our super cool authors (most of whom will be rocking a color variation of this tee shirt so you can find us in the crowd) and chat with us about anything you want. More than anything, though, you’ll get to celebrate your love of our fine District.

So sharpie that onto your calendar. 7 p.m., one week from today. Make it happen!

Science Club
1136 19th St NW
Washington DC

The Daily Feed
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ZOMG, A BUG!


ZOMG
Originally uploaded by mikehill33

Continuing in our proud tradition of blogging about amusing license plates, I present this one, found by Friend-of-We-Love-DC Mike Hill. There are so many possible applications of this:

ZOMG! That jackass just cut me off!

ZOMG! I just spilled my coffee in my lap!

ZOMG! I missed my exit!

News, The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Red Line Returning

Photo courtesy of
‘Empty Ride’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’

WUSA 9 reports that WMATA reopened the Ft. Totten and Brookland-CUA stations this morning, showing signs that the situation on the Red Line is returning to normal.  At present, the Takoma Park station remains closed as crews work to remove the wreckage from Monday’s crash. WMATA has not provided a time table for when the metro system will be completely back up to speed.

The Features
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Dear Bill Bryson, I Have a Bone to Pick With You

Photo courtesy of
‘The Lost Continent’
courtesy of ‘jmerelo’

Bill Bryson is kind of a jerk. This thought crossed my mind once every few chapters as I read his 1989 novel The Lost Continent. This was my first experience reading Bryson, though his name and bookjackets are so ubiquitous I figure he must have some friends at the New York Times or Barnes & Noble or something. Granting room for the possibility that Bill Bryson Narrator is as much a character as any, I found that in The Lost Continent the Bryson Narrator is in turn judgemental, cranky, elitist, disparaging, borderline racist and sadly determined to be unimpressed by most anything.  I’m also well-aware that my judgements of Bryson might be unfair, and my observations would have no place here if he had not, 100-some pages into the book, decided to make his way up through Virginia to dedicate roughly 9 pages to a stay in Washington, DC.

The Lost Continent is Bryson’s travelogue of his nearly-14,000-mile trip across and around and within America. I thought maybe for a second that this trip must have been bankrolled by a Tina Fey-esque book advance, but as The Lost Continent pre-dated such tomes as A Walk in the Woods and A Short History of Nearly Everything by more than a decade, I’m not quite sure who ponied up the dough. All I can say is I’m infinitely jealous, which you can add to other wrinkles in my credibility, not least of which being that I was still in diapers when Bryson made his journey. After two decades of living in the UK, Bryson decides to return to Des Moines, Iowa, land of his birth, and set out in search for the America of the American Dream. The America of Leave it to Beaver, where the corner druggist, while he’s out sweeping his stoop, waves to a young Jimmy Stewart-esque individual as he rides his bike down Main Street on his way to the sandlot to play ball. Suffice to say, Bryson winds up disappointed more often than not, as the America he witnesses features less tree-lined avenues and picturesque town squares, and more destitute, ramshackle homes and gaudy and tasteless absurdity. Continue reading →

Life in the Capital, Music, News, The Daily Feed
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Virgin Mobile Fest Moves to Merriweather, Drops Ticket Charge

VMF.png

Yes, that’s right, the Virgin Mobile Festival is now a free ticket. The event will be a one-day gig, instead of two, and now has moved to Merriweather Post Pavilion, down from Pimlico in Baltimore. The headliners of this year’s fest, dated August 30th, are Weezer and Blink-182, with Franz Ferdinand, Jet, The National, The Bravery, Girl Talk, The Hold Steady, Taking Back Sunday and Wale warming them up.

Why free? Virgin’s saying because the economy is down, we all deserve a free show. Hot damn. Thanks guys. Public tickets go up for grabs on Saturday morning, and they’re free except for Ticketbastard’s pesky service charges, unless you hit the box office at Merriweather or 9:30 club. If you’ve gone in the past, watch for an email this morning or tomorrow, for an early free-sale opportunity.

The Daily Feed
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Folklife Festival 2009 Starts Tomorrow!

Photo courtesy of
‘Untitled’
courtesy of ‘Smithsonian Institution’

Okay, so this photo is from a previous year’s Folklife Festival, but give me a break: The Smithsonian Folklife Festival starts tomorrow! YAY!  I get sort of ridiculously excited about this, since visiting the Festival generally involves beating sun, ridiculous humidity, and not nearly enough bottled water… but it also involves music and dancing and craft demonstrations and pretty much every awesome thing I can think of about having a cultural treasure like the Smithsonian in our back yard.

This year’s themes are Giving Voice: The Power of Words in African-American Culture, Las Americas, and Wales. So there promises to be lots of good spoken word performance as well.

The festival opens tomorrow, June 24th, and will continue through June 28th, then pausing and picking up again July 1st-5th.

Dupont Circle, History, Mythbusting DC, The Features
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DC Mythbusting: The DC Streetcar System

Photo courtesy of
‘Washington, DC View east down F Street NW no date’
courtesy of ‘army.arch’

Welcome to another edition of DC Mythbusting.  In order to avoid thinking about the terrible accident on Metro yesterday, I’m going to transport you back in time to when DC had another transit system.  That’s right, our fair city was served by a streetcar system beginning in 1862, and the last of the trains ran a hundred years later in 1962.  Then, as was the trend at the time, the transit system was forced to switch to buses, and the streetcars were no more.  There are many legends about the streetcar– it’s hard to imagine a transit system just leaving town with no marks, but you look around the city today and it’s hard to imagine the thriving streetcar system that existed just a few generations ago.  However, we’re lucky enough to have some very cool remnants of the old streetcar system.

Have you ever walked around Dupont Circle and seen those things that look just like New York City subway entrances?  Well, those are old streetcar entrances.  They were not all fancy like our Metro entrances (no one is standing to the right on escalators here), they’re just simple stairwells down to the streetcar platforms.  Passengers would descend into the station, where the streetcar would run in half-circles.  The Mount Pleasant Line of the streetcar system shut down in 1961, and by 1964 the station entrances were paved over.  But that’s not the end of the story for Dupont’s old streetcar station– in 1995, the station opened as a food court called Dupont Down Under, but apparently people don’t like eating in windowless underground lairs when they could be eating outside in one of DC’s great urban parks.  The project failed within a year, and the area was once again abandoned.  A couple years back, Jim Graham suggested that the space be used for adult clubs; however, neighborhood residents weren’t too excited about that and the space has remained vacant.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Red Sox Donate World Series Items to Smithsonian

Presenting the Artifacts

Red Sox President Larry Lucchino was joined by Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield at the National Museum of American History this morning, where the Red Sox donated artifacts to the Museum. They donated a Base from the 2004 World Series, and a Game-worn Jon Lester Jersey from the 2007 World Series. The artifacts will be on display on the 3rd floor of NMAH through this weekend, and will be part of a permanent exhibition to be named later.

So, Red Sox fans, join the 2.5M people who’ve visited the NMAH since it reopened eight months ago, it’ll be worth it. Or, just watch Larry Lucchino donate the items, or hear the NMAH sing Take Me Out To The Ballgame.

Dupont Circle, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Seagull on 16th Street

Naomi Jacobson and Jerry Whiddon in "The Seagull" at Theater J. Photo credit: Stan Barouh

Naomi Jacobson and Jerry Whiddon in "The Seagull" at Theater J. Photo: Stan Barouh

Most people don’t associate Chekhov with comedy. We think Russia in all caps, passion with a punch, alcoholics, suicides, depressives. And yes, there’s a lot of that. Except it can all be pretty hysterical stuff, as Theater J’s adaptation of “The Seagull” proves. It’s a thin line between tragedy and comedy, and Chekhov certainly meant us to see the absurdity in our own hyperbolic neuroses. Or put more simply – when a guy presents a dead seagull to his girlfriend, it’s ok to laugh.

Theater J’s mandate is to explore the Jewish cultural heritage and they usually tackle bold new plays. To pull Chekhov into this mandate involved a new translation by Carol Rocamora and an adaptation by Artistic Director Ari Roth that weaves in Jewish cultural references, mostly at the top of the play. If you aren’t familiar with “The Seagull,” these changes will barely register. If you are, they are easily accepted, unless you’re a hardcore Chekhovian scholar. And so we have “The Seagull on 16th Street,” a reference to 16th Street’s Jewish history and a nod to “Uncle Vanya on 42nd Street.”

The core of “The Seagull” is the idea of faith – in oneself, in one’s work and talent – and the terrible capacity to do both good and evil, on a whim. Director John Vreeke delicately pulls this out in a production that makes an excellent introduction to Chekhov. And an ensemble cast of Washingtonian theater regulars is admirably up to the task. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Drink With (and For) the DC RollerGirls

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

Tomorrow night the DC Rollergirls will host a send-off party at DC 9 in advance of their trip to the East Coast Derby Extravaganza (ECE) in Philly. Doors open at 8:30 and the $8 cover will go to support travel expenses for the team. Entertainment will be ample, with three live acts playing music and the opportunity to (turn back ye faint of heart!) arm wrestle the skaters.  The ECE tournament will see the DC All Stars compete to up their ranking (currently placed 12th) in the Eastern Region before their Regional tournament in September. If you’re in the City of Brotherly, or if you’re a die-hard RollerGirl fan, the ECE is two days of non-stop roller derby excitement. More than 90 leagues will be represented.

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Sick People on Orange Line

Sick passenger on Orane Line

In the aftermath of yesterday’s Metro crash I went with my backup plan today of skipping the Red Line in favor of the Orange. A malfunction had just occurred at Eastern Market, causing some delays, but a train arrived soon enough at Capitol South — then was held for ten minutes due to a sick passenger (photographed above). The train got moving faster than expected, however, and as it passed Metro Center I spotted yet another sick passenger being removed from another train on the New Carrolton side. Later still in the day, there was notice of more Orange Line delays due to a sick passenger on the train at Landover. Lots of sick people today.

To WMATA’s credit they got trains moving faster than I expected given the all-manual mode the trains are running in. And I must give kudos to Foggy Bottom Station for having the escalators all running with relative reliability for the past week. Yay.

Alexandria, Arlington, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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VA Yoga Week

Photo courtesy of
‘Our Colors’
courtesy of ‘lululemon athletica’

Yogis and NoVa dwellers, take note: this week is Virginia Yoga Week. The Web site says, “Participating studios and independent teachers are asked to offer one free class during the week and one five dollar class each day. Finish this fabulous week with an afternoon of free yoga on Sunday, June 28 from 3-5pm in the fresh air on the Market Square in Historic Old Town Alexandria.”

After the week DC has already had (and we’re not even halfway through!) this sounds like a good way to destress!

Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Eatonville

Photo courtesy of
‘Eatonville’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

So I’ll let you in on a little secret, new restaurants. Sometimes two of the blonde single lady authors of We Love DC hit the town together, and judge you. You can spot us, cause we ask a bunch of questions, giggle to ourselves, and take tons of pictures of our food and drinks. One of us is southern, the other northern. One twentysomething, one thirtysomething. We try and represent all demographics. We also try not to make a scene. Maybe one day we’ll get fabulous enough to don disguises Ruth Reichl-style, but for now, we aren’t particularly incognito. I’m pretty sure our server last week at Eatonville knew something was up, but he was a good sport, as we grilled him all about the menu, the best picks, and even the decor. He wound up asking us a bunch of questions back to our questions about the restaurant. Bending over our table, conspiritorially, he asked us “do you twitter?” (Yup.) “Will you tweet about this?” (Sure will.) “Even if you don’t like it?” (Uh huh.) Luckily for him, we liked it just fine.

Eatonville had come up with mixed reviews from my foodie crowd, but ever the southerner, I was excited. Jenn was ready to judge with me, and she’s always good to have around to bounce thoughts off of. We dived into the menu headfirst, ordering the two most popular appetizers, the Hushpuppy (singular, that’s right, find out why after the break) and the Fried Green Tomatoes. (I don’t think it’s in my genetics to say no to a fried green tomato!) Continue reading →

News, The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Metro Crash Update: Death Toll Rises, Press Conference at 8am

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Good morning everyone. First, some updates in the overnight:

The death toll rose to nine overnight, including the operator of the striking train. We’re expecting a press conference at 8am this morning, which I’ll cover live in this story. As you might imagine, with the system on full manual control today, the signaling system is suspected in the tragedy, and operator error may have added to the mix, as well.

There’s some additional transit news this morning. Due to a malfunctioning train at Eastern Market, the Orange & Blue lines are also operating at a significantly reduced capacity. Shuttle Buses are operating in the Red Line gap, so please be patient.

If you’d like to watch with us, NBC Washington is providing live video of the press conference via their website. Read on for the press conference information

Continue reading →

Talkin' Transit, The Features, WMATA, WTF?!
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In the Aftermath of the Metro Crash: Tips for Tuesday

Metro Map

Tomorrow is going to be a very, very difficult day for many. Our hearts go out to those who’ve lost loved ones, or were injured in the catastrophe. But, we must go on, and we must learn from what happened. We have to get ready for tomorrow.

Let’s start with what’s closed:

– Red Line Metro Rail service between Rhode Island Ave/Brentwood and Silver Spring. This will be closed all of Tuesday, and possibly longer. It’s going to take some time to get things back to normal on those tracks.

– Brunswick Line MARC train service will not be running on Tuesday.

There are options for getting around tomorrow, even though there is a giant hole in the Red Line. So, let’s ask one question, if you’re going to be affected by the Red Line closure or MARC train cancellation: Do you really need to be in the office? If you can work from home tomorrow, or take a mental health day, or can afford to call in sick, give it some thought. It’s not that your job isn’t important, but tomorrow’s going to be a royal cluster out there, and if you can stay home and still get everything done? Do it. For everyone.

If you’re an end-to-end commuter, Metro’s got some advice for you:

Metro officials recommend that customers who normally use the Red Line between the Glenmont and Silver Spring Metrorail stations should commute to Metrorail stations between the Shady Grove and Grosvenor-Strathmore Metrorail stations, or to use the following Metrobus lines to avoid the service disruption:

• Metrobus C8 line (Glenmont to White Flint)
• Metrobus Q2 line (Wheaton to Rockville)
• Metrobus C2, C4 line (Wheaton to Twinbrook)
• Metrobus J1 line (Silver Spring to Medical Center)
• Metrobus J2, J3, J4 line (Silver Spring to Bethesda)
• Metrobus L7, L8 line (Friendship Heights)

If you can possibly use the Green Line, instead of the Red, or bus to the Green Line and take it in, that would be a good option.

Commuters who are coming from the edge of town can continue to park at the outer-edge Metro stations on the red line and deal either with the shuttle bus, or attempt to park at College Park Metro, but parking’s going to be at a real premium, so if you’re not early, you’re going to miss out. Dr. Gridlock has some ideas about alternate busing solutions as well.

Whatever you do, be prepared for delays. Metro will be operating on full manual control tomorrow, which means that trains won’t be at top speed, and braking may be a bit of an adventure. Hold on tight. Leave a little earlier, if you need to be there on time. The trains are going to be crowded, the buses are going to be crowded, so, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I am, make sure you’re showered tomorrow, and make sure you’ve got deodorant going. Lay off the cologne and perfume, though, as that can be just as bad, if not worse, than BO. Be polite. Squeeze in a little tighter if you have to. Don’t block the doors. If you have to, get off the train and get back on after people have debarked. If you miss a train, it’s not the end of civilization. Relax. It will be okay.

And yes, I’m telling people to go ride Metro tomorrow. Metro is, historically, a very safe system. Less than a dozen people in the last 33 years of its operation have come to their end in an accident. You’re far safer on Metro than you are on the Beltway or on the surface streets, where thousands die every year in car wrecks.

Life in the Capital, News, The District, WMATA, WTF?!
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Metro Derailment, Collision at Fort Totten, 6 Dead

Train Derail
Courtesy of WUSA-9 via Twitter & Flickr

trainderail2
Courtesy of NBC Washington via Twitter & Flickr

Shortly after 5pm today, two Metro Red Line trains collided just outside the Fort Totten Metro station. Systemwide delays in the middle of rush hour are now to be expected. It’s not clear at this time if there were any injuries in the trains that have collided. Metro is slicing the Red Line in half for the rest of the day with a full service interruption between Fort Totten and Brookland, and power has been cut to those tracks.

We’ll be updating this story with news.

Update 42 [8:55pm] ABC is going to be halting their coverage at 9pm this evening. Currently, they’re talking with GWU Hospital, which received 26 patients from today’s crash, most of which were “green tag” patients in need of treatment, two were red tag patients in critical condition. They’re being looked at now.

Update 41 [8:42pm] The Washington Post now has a Gallery of Photos from the Scene of today’s accident.

Update 40 [8:30pm]Mayor Fenty is starting now. There’s going to be an 8am briefing tomorrow. We’ve just visited the scene of the collision. The scene is as horrific as you can imagine. Our deepest condolences to the families of all the victims. 70+ transported off the trains to the hospital. Chief Rubin will give more information shortly. There are six fatalities confirmed on the scene right now. It will take a few hours to get through the whole scene to make sure there aren’t any other casualties.

Chief Rubin: 76 transported. 50 walking wounded (green tag), 14 yellow tag and 6 red tags and 6 fatalities. We’re continuing to staff all our stations, plus we’re relying on support from surrounding communities and we thank them. We’ve been working 3.5 hrs, 200-250 firefighters at the scene. They’re down to the two cars that are smashed together. Two responder injuries, both have been transported and are seeking treatment now at area hospitals.

Chief Lanier: Do not come to the site. New Hampshire Ave is closed from North Capitol to Eastern.

GM Catoe: Our condolences to the families who’ve lost loved ones. We’re still in investigation mode to determine the cause. We will not operate this segment until at least tomorrow. Manual mode is in effect, with reduced speeds. (this would indicate that the automatic system may be part of the problem here). Thank you to MPD and DC Fire/EMS. This is a tragic event. We will get to the bottom and find out what happened. The NTSB is involved, and we have a federal responsibility to find out what occured here today.

NTSB Examiner Kirshman: My condolences from NTSB, We know there are fatalities, and local groups will handle the announcements regarding this. There are 9 investigators and additional personnel from NTSB involved. We are working closely with local responders and the Mayor. Train 214 and Train 112 were involved in today’s crash. We will begin once they’re finished with the accident response.

Chief Rubin: The primary search is still underway. One of the train is compressed 75-80% at this point. Jaws of Life are being used. We will make sure the train is cleared, living or dead, before the investigation begins.

NTSB: We’re looking at maintenance, the tracks, and working with Metro to do initial documentation, but NOT until the accident response is complete.

FBI Agent: The FBI Evidence Response team will be participating with NTSB. We will meticulously review this scene. I caution also against assumptions about what happened and how it happened.

Chairman Graham: The board will convene at 2pm tomorrow to discuss

GM Catoe: I will not comment further until we have more detailed information. We’re in the mode of recovery. Once the investigation is complete, we’ll release information. GM Catoe looks very tired.

Update 39 [8:20pm] MPD is now requesting you call 311 to inquire about loved ones potentially injured or killed today. Do NOT call the SOC. If you’re out of the District, please call 202.737.4404 which is the Metro Accident Information Line. Continue reading →

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: but Lear is unlovable

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Joel Washing’

In brief: this is Shakespeare as torture porn.

It’s tough to organize this review. Put marginally less briefly, this production of King Lear pretty much sacrifices the story in order to wallow around in physical violence, partially demolished sets, thrusting and grunting and marital rape. It has a lot of visual appeal with regards to the sets and costuming but that’s not enough to recommend it.

That’s not really the fault of anyone on stage. With one significant exception every one of the actors does a nice job, though only Jonno Roberts as Edmund really puts in an notable performance. Others suffer from some odd choices that may or may not be their fault, such as the painful sing-song that Joaquin Torres uses when voicing Edgar’s alter-ego Tom.

The truly offensive content – and there’s a fair amount – likely all can be laid at the feet of the director, Robert Falls. If you’re going to go anyway you may want to skip the rest of this review, as it’ll be filled with spoilers for how several scenes are staged. That it’s possible for there to be a spoiler for a four-hundred year old work is an interesting fact in and of itself, I think, but not a reason to subject yourself to this production.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Jammie Pants are the New Suits

Photo courtesy of
‘Oliver and Me’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

My favorite Metro complaint outlet Unsuck DC Metro reports that the guys seen sporting business-wear on the top, lazy jammie pants on the bottom this morning at Metro Center were part of a guerrilla marketing campaign encouraging peeps to work from home. The campaign, reports Unsuck DC Metro, is run by Qorvis and Intel, advertising a product that allows people to access company drives remotely.

Here’s the thing, though, as much as I think this is cute, don’t you think I ALREADY WISH I COULD WORK FROM HOME IN MY JAMMIES? It’s not like you handing me something at the top of the Metro is going to change my company’s policy, it’s just going to make me jealous. I see you there, in your comfy pants, Mr. Intel Guy, and I kind of want to punch you. Or at least go back home and get in bed, while telling my boss I’m “working from home.”