Monthly Archives: July 2009

Media, The Daily Feed
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Calling All Spies

Photo courtesy of
‘Spies’ courtesy of ‘danielwaynecarter’

The International Spy Museum is in need of spies.

To support some expansions to their new GPS-based game, the Museum is looking for Cuban American actors age 25 or older (either gender) who would be willing to portray spies in some short video spots in the game. If you’re interested (or know someone who can fit the bill) or have further questions, contact Amanda at aohlke [at] spymuseum [dot] org.

And be sure to check out their new GPS-based game; it’s a great way to spend an afternoon around Penn Quarter – or get your visiting relatives out of your hair for a day…

The Daily Feed
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Are You Jonathan’s Match?

Photo courtesy of
‘Help save more lives’
courtesy of ‘Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center’

We told you earlier about Jonathan Haupt, whose friends and family are trying to find a bone marrow match to save his life.  Team Haupt has held several marrow registry drives all over the country in the past several weeks, but they’re still looking for a match.  They’re coming to DC tomorrow and Thursday to register more people (particularly those of Jewish heritage, but all are welcome and needed), so if you can make it to either of these events please do.  Bring a friend or a co-worker and know that you’re doing your part to give hope to millions of people.  It only takes 10 minutes, and it’s a completely painless process that just involves a cheek swab.

Upcoming drives are Wednesday, 7/29 and Thursday, 7/30, 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM, at the JCC at 1529 16th Street NW.  Closest Metro stations are Dupont Circle and U Street.  Check out the website for more information.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Is the flag upside down at NOAA HQ?


Is the flag upside down at NOAA HQ?
Originally uploaded by andycarvin

Andy Carvin snapped this photo this morning while riding by the NOAA headquarters. If you look at the full-size image, you can clearly see that the flag has been risen upside-down. As I recall from my Boy Scout days, that is a sign of distress. Fortunately, we now have 911 to dial when we are in distress, so I wonder what went wrong today that they somehow managed to raise the flag that way.

Anybody else catch this?

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo


Where To Set One’s Eyes by Bogotron

Ah, the games we play in life.  I met this girl and I thinks she likes me.  I mean she touched my shoulder as she laughed at my joke and I’ve always heard that if they touch you then you’re in, right?  That Greenpeace volunteer up ahead has a clipboard and is stopping people on the street.  If I put on my sunglasses and ignore them, maybe they won’t ask me for a minute of my time.  These games we play are all about body language, about how we interact with each other, about how we communicate with each other without talking, about how we maneuver through our daily lives.  After all, life is the biggest game of them all.

Bogotron has captured a moment we’ve all experienced before, if not on a daily basis.  You’re crammed on a Metro car full of complete strangers.  The last thing you want to do is talk to them or make them think that it’s OK to talk to you.  Maybe you put on your headphones or maybe you burry your face in your Sudoko book.  Maybe you wear your sunglasses, one of my biggest pet peeves.  You might glance at someone but not for long — wouldn’t want to be caught staring.  You’ve had a hard day at the office and all you can think about is getting home, petting your dog, cracking open a beer, and doing it all again tomorrow.  This is your life, and mine too.

Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed
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DC2NY Bus Company Enjoys 35% Growth in Last 12 Months

Photo courtesy of
‘DC2NY’
courtesy of ‘Luc Van Braekel’

Living at 10th and M, I’m right in the center of DC to NY bus travel, as Bolt Bus (owned by Greyhound), MegaBus, and Eastern Travel Company (now owned by CoachUSA-parent company of Megabus) all run their operation from the parking lot that now sits where the old convention center used to be. But it appears that I’ve been taking the wrong buses because DC2NY bus lines, which leaves from closer to Midtown/Golden Triangle reported yesterday that they’ve enjoyed a 35 percent growth in its business over the last 12 months with a weekly ridership of 2,500 passengers at an average ticket price of $26, according to Washington Business Journal.  This is pretty strong growth for a company that’s only 2 years old – especially in this economy. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Is Petworth the Next U Street? Marvin Owners Think So…

Photo courtesy of
‘Metro art’
courtesy of ‘voteprime’

Get used to this metro station, folks, because we’re thinkin’ you’re going to be heading to it quite a lot in the future. The rumors that have been circulating for months about the potential of a new restaurant/bar owned by the folks who brought us Marvin and The Gibson at 14th and U have been confirmed by the Prince of Petworth, who’s basing his report on a confirmation he received from Chris Donatelli, the developer behind the project.

Although the details are not crystal clear on what type of establishment will be, it will be dedicated in some way to Billy Simpson, the owner of Billy Simpson’s House of Seafood that occupied the space before it switched hands. If Marvin and Gibson are any indication, it’s going to be swanky and there’s going to be great beer and a patio. Suh-weeet! Am I going to be hanging out in Petworth a bunch now? Maybe not immediately, but I wouldn’t have dreamed of hanging out on U Street 8 years ago either…sign of changing times for Petworth, perhaps?

Special Events, The Daily Feed
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All New Marine Corps 10K

Photo courtesy of
‘Marine Corps Marathon’
courtesy of ‘phi’

OK, so you “missed” registering and training for this year’s Marine Corps Marathon.  No biggie!  You can still participate in the festivities by running the Marine Corps 10K.  This 6 mile race will make its debut in 2009, on the same morning (Sunday, October 25) as the full marathon, so you get the pre-race nerves, course cheering and post-race hospitality.  The course starts on the Mall, takes you around the Pentagon and ends up at the Marine Corps War Memorial.  What better way to experience DC, then running through its streets in honor of our nation’s servicemen and women.  Oo-raah!

The Daily Feed
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Yes, You Do Need an Umbrella

Photo courtesy of
‘the red umbrella’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

You’re standing at the door, on your way out to head to work. It’s overcast and you’re having that ages-old debate with yourself. If your roommate/partner/dog is within shouting distance, you might turn to them, otherwise you’ll just say it out loud. “Do I need an Umbrella?” Have no fear, extremely lazy people everyone! Now there’s http://doineedanumbrella.com/. Once you’ve closed your NextBus prediction window (my other new tool of laziness convenience), open up a new tab, pop in your zip code and eccoloqua! If it’s above about a 40% chance or if its already raining, the supercomputer will declare YES! Though to be fair, if its already raining and you didn’t just look out the window, there may be other problems you should tackle.

Oh and, FYI: You do need an Umbrella. Or so it says when I put in 20002. when I try 20001, however, it says no. Hmmm… maybe its only going to rain in the NE.

Food and Drink, We Love Food
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In Defense of Restaurant Week (+ My Picks For Best Bets)

Photo courtesy of
‘Condiments’
courtesy of ‘Amberture’

The dates for Restaurant Week were leaked last week, and now that I’m on Twitter, I’ve been hearing both sides of the eternal debate – is Restaurant Week worth it? Alex, the foodie over at Brightest Young Things and I got into a brief discussion, she is anti-Restaurant Week, and I’m pro, so I wrote her an email explaining my stance, the text of which follows. After I defend RW, then I’ll go on to share my picks for which places are the best bets this go round. If you’re not interested in my defense, you can skip right to that part, I won’t hate you. But, without further ado, here’s my pro-Restaurant Week diatribe for Alex:

I hear the haters, I do – I understand – the service during Restaurant Week can be crappy, the restaurant loses more than it makes so you get the cheapest food items they can serve, smaller portions, the kitchen gets tired of cranking out the same food over and over and the quality lacks. I get it. I hear you when you say if you’re a REAL foodie, you’ll stay far away during hell week and go back after the restaurants have recovered. But you know what I say to all that? Suck it. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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A selective kiss-cam

Photo courtesy of
‘kiss’
courtesy of ‘quigley_brown’

WaPo’s got the story today about the Washington Mystics’ no-kisscam policy. Personally I think the lack of that hideous time-killer is a selling point, but it’s fairly obvious why some people would be a little peeved by it. I will say, to Verizon Center’s credit, that I have never seen them engage in the obnoxious practice of showing two dudes for the “oh hah hah they will not kiss because they are straight isn’t their discomfort FUNNY” during the kisscam.

I once told someone who came with me to a Florida Panthers game that he should be warned – if they pull that crap on us I’m gonna kiss him. “You can bet enough people will whine that they’ll never do it again.”

Thanks but no thanks for proving me wrong, Mystics.

The Daily Feed
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So, what kind of beer did Obama invite them for?

Photo courtesy of
‘beers’
courtesy of ‘Amberture’

So, with all the foofaraw about the arrest of Dr. Henry Louis Gates, what President Obama said about the actions of the arresting officer and his police department, and the president’s ensuing invitation for the officer and Dr. Gates to join him at the White House for a beer, it’s refreshing to see people getting their panties all a-twist over what really matters- what beer will be served?

The folks at The Awl seem to believe that the LBJ-era policy directing that only domestic wines and beers be served at official functions means that the president, the professor, and the cop will be knocking back mass-market, watery crap.  Personally, I don’t see any reason to believe that- while even as a non-beer-drinker I know that Budweiser is awful beer, as the wife of a beer enthusiast I also know that there are many fine regional beers and microbrews made right here in the US that could be offered to White House guests without bringing about national shame.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Mystics Down Sacramento for Back-to-Back Home Wins

Photo courtesy of
‘Mystics post-game 7/18/09’
courtesy of ‘caciadoodl’

In their longest stretch at home this season, Mystics play was a show of the mostly good, the sort of bad and the sporadically ugly. Last night the team (9-7) defeated the Sacramento Monarchs, 87-73. Crystal Langhorne continued to shine in her sophomore season, leading the team with 19 points.  In this win and their Thursday win over Chicago (75-64) the Mystics demonstrated why they are currently 3rd in the Eastern Conference and have a serious chance at the playoffs. Tomorrow the team will play on the home court of No. 1 Indiana (to who they lost Tuesday 70-82) and then on to that of the New York Liberty.

The Daily Feed
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Kastles Win WTT Championship


2009 WTT Champions by Max Cook

In what can only be described as a miraculous weekend of tennis, the Washington Kastles pulled off two huge wins against the New York Sportimes and the Springfield Lasers to become the 2009 World TeamTennis Champions.  Both matches were no easy feat for the Kastles with the match point coming down to the very end.  Just when things could easily go in the other team’s favor, the Kastles stepped up their game and pulled through.  Both matches were a blast for Kastles fans and made for some amazing tennis.

Continue reading →

The DC 100
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Omnivore 100: #59 Poutine

Photo courtesy of
’08-dec-26′
courtesy of ‘sashafatcat’

I can’t tell you just how excited I was when I volunteered to write this week’s Omnivore: 100 feature and stumbled across the traditional French-Canadian dish, Poutine, as an option. As a native of Canada, I’ve been missing poutine ever since I moved to this great land and I wish Americans didn’t find the concept of fries covered in cheese and gravy so revolting. For 12 years, I’ve been talking up the glorious amalgamation of fat, grease, and sodium that is a plate of poutine to friends who can muster no other response than snide remarks like “sounds like poontang.” I swear to God that sometimes I feel like I’m living the life of a South Park character (I’m not the only person who’s made this observation, and you can probably guess which one I’d be…cough, Cartman, cough)

So let me impart some Canadian wisdom (Liam, isn’t that an oxymoron? Har har, very funny…) upon you all about one of the greatest dishes ever. Yes. I said it. It’s one of the greatest dishes ever. There is NOTHING like sitting down to a plate of fries covered in gravy and cheese curd (especially after a night of boozin’ on Montreal’s Rue Ste. Catherine – MTL’s equivalent to 18th St. in Adams Morgan). Yes, it probably takes a few days off your life, but c’mon, by the time it actually hits you, your meals will all consist of apple sauce anyway. Continue reading →

Business and Money, The Daily Feed
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Fenty Proposes Ballpark Tax Shift

Photo courtesy of
‘here’s a question for you two…’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a Hamburger today, is what J. Wellington Wimpy from Popeye always said. Apparently now, Mayor Fenty wants to take Wimpy’s route, and use $50M from the Ballpark Tax toward the General Fund for the city over the next four years. The Ballpark Tax is charged to DC’s large and medium businesses as a way of financing the stadium’s purchase, and now those same medium and large businesses aren’t happy to see that money being diverted back to city coffers during the crisis.

The Features, Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 7/24 – 7/28/2009

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

It’s about time summer showed up. We were missing you, stifling-hot days with sticky humidity and sudden downpours! Thanks for arriving late to the party and reminding us August is knocking on our back door.

Try as you might, however, you couldn’t keep us down. No way! We defied you this weekend, with multitudes of sports, BBQs and kids being kids! Our area photographers refused to submit!

Ok, so yeah, I’ve had double caffeine this morning. How about you? Chill a moment and check out the weekend from viewpoints other than your own… Continue reading →

News, The Daily Feed
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14th Street To Be Closed Between Constitution, Pennsylvania

Photo courtesy of
‘Streaks of Light’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’

14th Street will be closed from Constitution Avenue to Pennsylvania Avenue starting at 5am tomorrow for a special event, and won’t reopen until 6pm. I’m not sure yet what the event is that’s causing the closure, but DC’s Text Alert Service has a guide for planning your commute along different routes. If you can, tomorrow, work from home. I fully suspect this to be all kinds of bad for traffic and getting around town tomorrow.

Crime & Punishment, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Alexandria Police Chief Arrested for DUI

Photo courtesy of
‘How Much is that Bottle in the Window?’
courtesy of ‘Karon’

The Post is reporting that Alexandria Chief of Police David Baker was arrested for DUI in Arlington over the weekend, with a blood-alcohol content of .19, more than twice the legal limit. He was involved in a collision with another car, with $1800 in damage to the two vehicles. Chief Baker has been placed on administrative leave while the case is investigated. He faces a minimum of 5 days in jail as his BAC was over .15.

A blood alcohol content (BAC) level of 0.08 percent is considered legally impaired. However, alcohol can start to affect many of your senses after only one drink. No matter the circumstances, you should never drink and drive. It’s not worth the risk of putting yourself and others in danger.

A blood alcohol content (BAC) level of 0.08 percent is considered legally impaired. However, alcohol can start to affect many of your senses after only one drink. No matter the circumstances, you should never drink and drive. It’s not worth the risk of putting yourself and others in danger.

The largest group at risk for drinking and driving are those who binge drink or are struggling with an alcohol use disorder (AUD). This means they consume a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time, putting them at risk for harmful side effects and according to Leppard Law PLLC many legal problems. It takes roughly 30 minutes to two hours for alcohol to be absorbed into your bloodstream. During this time, your breathing may slow down and your cognitive skills may be delayed. Because of this, it is always dangerous to drink and drive.

Special Events, The Daily Feed
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TEP & Ben’s Chili Bowl Fundraiser TODAY!!!

Photo courtesy of

‘Summer = Grill = Hotdogs!’

courtesy of ‘TheBusyBrain’

I know it’s last minute on a Sunday, but if you’re in the mood for some half-smokes, beer and good company, all in the name of raising funds for The Equity Project (TEP) Charter School, this gathering is for you. DC’s very own Ben’s Chili Bowl is sponsoring the event and generously providing half smokes, chili, cheese, the works. There will also be vegetarian options and other delights.

Suggested donation: $20. Brokeass? Throw us $5 or a six pack and they’ll call it even. The party is being hosted by TEP Capital Campaign Board members, who are raising funds for a facility, since charter schools are not provided an actual building.

Location: 605 Q Street NW, (2 blocks from Howard/Shaw metro stop)

Time: 6-9pm Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Restaurant Week Announced (/Leaked)!

Photo courtesy of
‘Zaytinya’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

RAMW said it wasn’t going to release until Monday, Open Table doesn’t have the promotion listed on the home page, but the dates have been leaked on Twitter, (August 24-30) and people are referring to last year’s list as a starting point for when to reserve click here for it. These are good guesses for what will be there this year, right? Right. So you could go ahead and stake out your claim on these spots now and hope they’re on it when it gets announced Monday.

Now, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. SORT IT BY PRICE. Hello?! This is what Restaurant Week is all about people, eating at places you couldn’t usually afford. Now, you can’t sort by price quite yet, because Open Table hasn’t done the full list yet, but here are my initial picks for you without looking at it fully, the way I like to when I sort it. Also, this is without knowing who is extending the list. I’ll dig deeper for you on Monday, but if you’re in a hurry, here are my quick picks, guaranteed for a good time.

1789, Cafe Atlantico, Ceiba, Equinox, Me Jana, PS 7’s, Volt and Willow. Now go forth and reserve, my fair readers.