Monthly Archives: August 2009

The Daily Feed
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Lights Out for Legal Sea Foods at Reagan?

Photo courtesy of
‘Legal Sea Foods’
courtesy of ‘Ben+Sam’

Popular restaurant chain, Legal Sea Foods, has been a staple at Reagan National Airport for the last 12 years, serving up fresh chowdah and other seafood to busy travelers at the small transportation hub. But recently Legal Sea Foods has been a fish out of water, it would seem, struggling with the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority to keep its Reagan location up and running. According to LSF President and CEO, Roger Berkowitz, the company has been in lease negotiations with the MWAA for more than 15 months, a battle that resulted in the MWAA giving the space presently occupied by LSF to another concession after Legal Sea Foods refused to conduct more the $2.3 million in renovations by August 2009, as requested by the MWAA. Legal Sea Foods preferred to wait until slower months to conduct the renovations, but the MWAA rejected that proposal. Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, Entertainment, The Daily Feed
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New Theme Song Alert

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Sen. Al Franken (R) and singer Gloria Gaynor on August 4, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/WireImage for NARAS)

A little birdie sent me this picture, and it makes me laugh really hard, because, as she pointed out, “if anyone knows the meaning of I Will Survive, it’s Al.”

Franken and Gaynor were both at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday on the Performance Rights Act.

Talkin' Transit, The Features, WMATA
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Talkin’ Transit: Common Commuting

Photo courtesy of
‘New Carrolltn’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

I give you the average day in the life of a Washington commuter (who happens to be a blogger and works downtown).*

7:06 a.m. Pulling into the parking garage at Franconia-Springfield a little early; traffic for once was cooperative so I am optimistic it’s a good sign for today. Until I nearly collide head-on with a driver coming up the ramp in the opposite direction who happens to be driving in the center of the lane, rather than sticking to one side or the other. Awkwardness ensues as I back into my selected space…and he parks next to me.

In situations like this, I put on my “Metro mask” and just avoid eye contact.

7:13 a.m. The electronic sign says the Blue Line train awaiting me on the platform below is departing in 3 minutes. I am amused as suddenly everyone’s pace picks up as we surge towards the turnstyles, only to be derailed by a gaggle of tourists attempting to figure out how they’re used. Two teenagers can’t seem to shove their paper farecard into the one clearly marked with the “do not enter” light; a mother wrestles with her stroller at the handicapped gate and suddenly, there’s only one lane for the rest of us regulars to use. And its not reading all the SmarTrip cards on first pass. I glance back at the electronic sign, noting that we’ve got two minutes…and hear the door chimes ring down below.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Phillips After 5 Starts Weekly Tomorrow


‘Phillips First Thursdays’
courtesy of ‘christaki’

Tomorrow night The Phillips Collection is hosting the first of its weekly “Phillips After 5” programs in August (the “After 5” program is usually year round on the first Thursday of the month). While I’m told the lines won’t compare to the Hirshhorn After Hours program (thank god!), The Phillips Collection has a good thing going for them.

Admission into the Collection’s latest exhibit, Paint Made Flesh (about $12), will earn you access to the post-work entertainment, food and cash-bar. From 5 to 8:00 p.m Minor Thoughts featuring Maureen Mullaney will get you feeling their jazz. And try not to let the Play Night Actors – who integrate themselves into the crowd – fool you. Located a block from the Dupont metro stop (North exit!) at 21st and Q, The Phillips Collection is a convenient spot to swing by on your way home.

The Paint Made Flesh exhibition, if you haven’t already checked it out, would be worth going to see even if there were no After 5 program. (The Phillips Collection is really just sweetening the deal!) The Paint Made Flesh exhibit looks at how oil paint changed the way painters were able to convey the human body. There are many very intriguing paintings from various periods, and each painting has a wonderful description of the work alongside, helping to weave a powerful story. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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That about sums up my opinion

screenshot029

I’ve never bothered to comment on the embarrassment that is WaPo’s little video foray, Mouthpiece Theater, because… well, I didn’t want to accidentally cause someone to see it and suffer the way I had. They got more attention than they deserve last week, however, when Milbank (half of the un-comedy duo from the vids) decided to obliquely call Hillary Clinton a bitch just for yuks. So if you really want to see their shtick it wouldn’t be hard to google up now.

However I found this gem today which I think pretty accurately conveys the quality and thoughtfulness of MT and has the added advantage of actually being amusing. I see a lot of stuff online that unfairly takes swipes at traditional media and ignores their contributions but this is pretty spot-on in mocking their attempts at … relevance? I don’t even know what they’re aiming for in making MT.

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The Daily Feed
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Legg Mason First Round Report


Lleyton Hewitt by Max Cook

Contributed by Paula Schumann

Last night at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, the weather was perfect for the first round of the tournament. The crowds are definitely growing and the matches are getting more interesting.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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A Barack Stars deal

Seth Weitberg next to the man he impersonates in the show, Rahm Emanuel

Seth Weitberg next to the man he impersonates in the show, Rahm Emanuel
Photo courtesy of Woolly Mammoth

If you were at all interested in catching the Second City “Barack Stars” show at Woolly but were turned off by the price, here’s your chance: they’ve added an 11pm show for this Friday that will be almost half the normal $40 ticket price. $25 plus the cost of whatever caffeinated awakeness-enhancer you need to get yourself there is a pretty good deal. I’d suggest having a few drinks next door at Rasika, which always has neat drinks on offer.

The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Living Dead in Denmark

Living Dead in Denmark1

Zombies…so hot right now.

No, really. If there is a pop culture meme that has taken the arts and culture world by the throat in the past eighteen months, its the resurrection (puns absolutely intended) of the Zombie. The New York Times stretched, a bit hilariously, to attribute the rise of the Zombie to the recent economic climate in their review of this year’s hit Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Just this week it came out that the publisher of that mash-up has signed on for another, Paul is Undead, which will follow the lives of the Beatles as if they were zombies. Typically, in zombie tales small band of humans must rally against Zombie take-over in a world where civilization is crumbling around them and nothing was stable as it once was.

Enter here: “Living Dead in Denmark,” or as we called it, Hamlet and Zombies. This Rorschach Theater production, currently being performed at the Davis Theater in Georgetown, playfully remixes the Bard in a way that is both a thumbs up and a nose-thumbing. Though the play by Vietnamese American playwright Qui Nguyen was first produced in 2006, its debut production in the District is another coup for the current craze. Continue reading →

Essential DC, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Golds Gym Cuts Towel Service, Grossness Ensues

Photo courtesy of
‘GOLD’S GYM’
courtesy of ‘Leo Reynolds’

I’m a member of my friendly, local Gold’s Gym. I even say it in my “about me” authors profile. I have a gym crush on my Gold’s, and it’s the cheapest membership I can find in the locations I need my gym to be and I have the best personal trainer in all the land. But ya’ll, Golds is taking a turn for the seriously nasty, as they’re cutting their free towel service. Now, I realize we’re in a bad economy, and I realize that washing a bajillion loads of towels isn’t cost effective for their bottom line, nor is it very environmentally friendly. But the alternative? The alternative is bad.

Here is how I envision this working – I pop into the gym, and spot burly big men, sweating all over the weight machine, having nothing but paper towels to wipe it up with. You see where I’m going here? SWEAT, is nasty. Big burly man sweat? Even nastier. Paper towels? Very un-environmentally friendly, as people pull of yards of towels in one fail swoop. Here we have a sanitation, customer service, and environmentally conscious EPIC FAIL.

I get that I can go to Target and buy some wash cloths and bring them to the gym with me. I will do that, in fact. I hope EVERYONE at Gold’s will do that. But not everyone will (looking at you big burly sweaty paper towel loving man) and we’ll be stuck with a nasty problem. Also, I pay good money for my membership, and towels were included when I signed up. I also pay for my laundry, stupid coin operated apartment complex machine, and so it’s now an added expense. Sigh. What’s next? Taking out the water fountains and forcing us to bring our own or buy bottled?

Mythbusting DC, The Features
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DC Mythbusting: Takoma or Takoma Park?

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Hoffmann’

Welcome to another edition of DC Mythbusting.  This week we’ll be tackling a myth about nomenclature– is the town on the other edge of the boundary with DC called Takoma or Takoma Park?  If it is Takoma Park (which is the name you hear more often), why on earth is the Metro station just called Takoma?

Because there are two different places– Takoma Park is a city in Maryland, while Takoma is a neighborhood in NW Washington DC.  They’re right next to each other, and they used to both be part of a suburb called Takoma Park, until the District of Columbia grew up to its current boundary.  Takoma Park was founded back in 1883 as a Washington garden suburb with “clean air, pure water, and no mosquitoes.”  The area grew as an attractive estate-filled suburb with streetcar service connecting it to Downtown DC.  In 1890 Takoma Park was incorporated as a town by the Maryland General Assembly. However, the northeast boundary line of Washington DC ran right through what was formerly known as Takoma Park. Pierre L’Enfant probably wouldn’t have been too happy with someone messing with the boundaries of his orderly 10-mile square, so the part of the suburb that was within DC remained under District control.

Continue reading →

People, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Safe Shores Still Needs Backpacks!

Photo courtesy of
‘Show Off Your Supplies!’
courtesy of ‘queercatkitten’

Just a friendly reminder to all our readers that Safe Shores is still looking for people to donate backpacks, duffel bags and school supplies! They’ve even extended the deadline to August 7th for collection.

Safe Shores serves child and youth victims of abuse and witnesses to violence, with over 800 children and youth served annually. As children come in to Safe Shores, they’re often brought there directly from a crime scene, or directly on their way to foster care, so sometimes they aren’t in the best shape (as I’m sure you can imagine) and so Safe Shores staff will give them new clothing, duffel bags, and backpacks to take with them. They’re running low on supplies right now for their annual back to school drive. In short:

Who: YOU!
What: Duffel bags full of children’s clothes or a backpack full of school supplies (or both!)
Where: Drop them off at 300 E Street, NW location (practically on top of Judiciary Square Metro Station, and in short walking distance of Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro)
When: Now til August 7th during normal operating hours (8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday – Friday).
Why: Cause you love DC, and part of loving DC is loving our younger, cuter residents in need. Plus, ’cause shopping is good times, and you’ll get warm fuzzy feelings.

The Daily Feed
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This Just In: Columbia Heights No Longer Cool

Photo courtesy of
‘Target entrance @ Columbia Heights’
courtesy of ‘spiggycat’

In a somewhat interesting and mildly thought provoking (yet mildly silly) piece of journalism, the Washington Post has written an article on how the now one year old Target of Columbia Heights has changed the hipster culture and the neighborhood’s appeal. You see, Columbia Heights is no longer cool because Target doesn’t lock-up it’s deodorant. In fact, it offers a much larger variety than the local CVS and features it in a brightly lighted aisle! SO not hip.

If you are a true hipster, you’ll move to Anacostia. That’s what the dude quoted in the article did. And he got out before the Target. Now that’s hip.

I’m all for local neighborhood character. D.C. has a lot of it and is a big reason why I love it here. But can we please move past this whole “hip” thing? Neighborhoods don’t have to be dangerous and sketchy in order to be a cool place to live, with or without a Target.

Stay hip, Washington.

(Disclaimer: I am not an actual hipster)

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Vandals Smashing DC’s New Bus Shelters

Photo courtesy of
‘shelter’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Much like kids jumping on a just-made bed, vandals have been going around DC and smashing the shiny new glass in dozens of new bus shelters around the district. They’re guessing that someone is just driving around shooting the glass out for no real reason. I’m guessing it’s someone with an attraction to shiny things who enjoys the big noise it makes when the glass breaks all over the sidewalk. If anyone has information on the crimes, they should call the city’s non-emergency line at 311.

Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed, WMATA
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O’Malley to Metro: Light Rail!

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_7886’
courtesy of ‘Chas Redmond’

While it’s no Monorail, Governor Martin O’Malley says that the proposed 16-mile Purple Line should be light rail, calling it the “locally-preferred alternative”. The proposed line would run from New Carrolton metro to Bethesda metro, stopping at Silver Spring and College Park along the way. The line, as it stands, is still entirely unfunded, but now that a decision has been made regarding bus/rail, Governor O’Malley can put together a proposal for federal transit funding.

The Daily Feed
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Get Off the Phone!

Photo courtesy of
‘passenger’s view’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

The New York Times has an article out today discussing how cabbies have ignored the cell phone ban in New York City, which forbids taxi drivers to speak on cell phones, even with hands-free devices.  Here in the District, we have a hands-free driving law that went into effect five years ago, in July 2004, and it bans motorists from speaking on the phone without a hands-free device except in emergency situations.  I’ve noticed that taxi drivers are some of the worst offenders in our city– it seems 50/50 that I’ll be getting into a cab with a driver who has a cell phone in his hand.  The cell phone ban is rarely enforced in New York, and that seems to be the case here in DC as well.

Taxi drivers claim that they are better equipped to handle a cell phone and a vehicle because they are professional drivers, and that having a cell phone breaks up the monotony of 12-hour shifts.  But when a driver is distracted by a phone, he’s more likely to miss traffic signals or drive erratically (try this fun Times game to see how difficult it really is to use a phone and drive at the same time). What to do if your taxi driver is talking on the phone?  You can always ask him to hang up, or get out of the cab if it is affecting his driving.  If you’d like to log a complaint, take down his name and vehicle license tag (which should be displayed prominently), and report it to the DC Taxicab Commission.

Crime & Punishment, The Daily Feed
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AG Nickles In Hot Water

Photo courtesy of
‘that’s, like, way tubular, dude’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

It was a rough week for DC Attorney General Peter Nickles last week. Between getting dressed down by a Circuit Court judge for failing to provide a series of papers and Ward 3 councilwoman Mary Cheh’s suggestion that he resign on Friday, it’s looking like the AG will have his name attached to adjectives like “beleaguered” and “embattled.” With Judge Emmet Sullivan considering an independent investigation of the AG’s office related to the Pershing Park incident in 2002, where protestors during IMF/World Bank weekend were arrested improperly. Nickles is now playing hard to get with the media, telling City Paper’s Jason Cherkis that he won’t return his calls.

Here’s hoping we start to get some answers. Councilman Mendelssohn? Perhaps you’d better start that investigation.

Downtown, Penn Quarter, The Daily Feed
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Hopes for Shaw and Penn Quarter Revitalization with New Convention Center Marriott


‘look up’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

If you’ve wandered around downtown at all recently, you can’t help but notice the dichotomy of the Shaw-bordering-Penn Quarter neighborhood: the new Sexy Safeway and the upcoming Buddha Bar sandwiching a dismal and run-down street where police find their fair share of activity. You can’t help but wonder when all the vacant NEW buildings will be filled, let alone who is going to take care of the aforementioned pockets of gloom.

Well, there seems to be some good news. After a decade of discussions dating from 1998, DC’s City Council finally voted to approve $206 million in public money to help fund one of only three Marriott Marquis hotels in the world across the street from the Convention Center at 9th and Massachusetts. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Metro Train Door Opens. Halfway. On Wrong Side. On Moving Train. In Tunnel.

Orange Line train door only half-open

The photo above is not of the door in question, but the Washington Post and NBC Washington tell us “the left panel in the middle door of a middle car came open and that the door closed as soon as the operator hit the brakes” on the Orange Line at rush hour yesterday, while the train was moving between stations. Fortunately no one fell out, and Metro is “investigating.” (Hat tip to UnsuckDCMetro Twitter.)

Downtown, Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Momoyama

Photo courtesy of
‘Roll’
courtesy of ‘lorigoldberg’

Momoyama defines off the beaten path. It couldn’t be any more off the beaten path unless it were literally down an actual dirt road. It is not. But it is tucked back in this really weird city block on the Senate side of the Capitol on second street near 395. But boy, is it worth seeking out. It is some great sushi.

A converted rowhome, with a tiny dining space, it seats maybe thirty maximum. The sushi is rolled up front by two sushi masters grabbing rice from a bowl between them, cutting fish and drizzling sauces. The prices are super cheap, and the service is great. I love everything about Momoyama, it feels like my own little sushi corner of the world. Continue reading →

Crime & Punishment, The Daily Feed
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MPD is Hands-On for National Night Out

Photo courtesy of
‘blue peloton’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Tonight is National Night Out, an organized night out to fight crime and prevent drug use. It’s also the sixth use of All-Hands-On-Deck (AHOD) for MPD. The first five AHOD weekends resulted in nearly 2,400 arrests and seizure of $30,000 in drugs. There will be events in all seven of the MPD Police Districts, even though the release lists only six.


View National Night Out Locations – DC in a larger map

In addition, THEARC is putting on a concert at their location on Mississippi Ave SE, featuring Tabi Bonney and Tanya Blount.

MPD Officers will be on-duty as part of AHOD through Wednesday morning.