Monthly Archives: August 2009

Comedy in DC
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Comedy in DC: Around the Intarwebs

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Kind of a mish-mash this week of different stuff for the end of DC’s sleepy August…

First, a video (above): Jewish Guilt vs. Catholic Guilt go head-to-head in the 1976th annual Guilt-Off, starring Jared Stern and Chris White. The infographic is cracking me up all on its own.

Second, a show: Friday September 4, DC Improv Lounge, Drag Me To Hilarity, featuring, well, almost everyone who ever made me laugh. Hampton Yount, Jake Young, Aparna Nancherla, Eli Sairs, and Mark Reiss. The Improv Lounge has been quiet lately, so it’s nice to see a solid show in there.

Thirdly, some improv: Washington Improv Theater’s Neutrino Video Project, in which they take a suggestion, and then the cast and crew runs out onto the street to script, shoot, and assemble a video in the time it takes to watch the finished product. When they say, “The only way to see how it all comes together is to be there when it all goes down,” I tend to believe it. In any case, it’s a far cry from tired old improv games, so this looks like something to check out. It’s only running another couple of weekends, so don’t miss it.

Finally, another video: Seaton Smith’s “Pimpin’ Referee,” made in cooperation with the Sierra Mist Comedy Lab, which supports new comic talent. Who knew sugared water could be so hilarious? Seaton has been posting this one to Facebook for a while and I just got around to watching it, which I assure you was my loss. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Public Shame for Cheatin’ Dog Husband

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

Guy cheats on Wife. Wife finds out. But Wife doesn’t dump Guy, oh no. Wife makes guy stand out on Route 7 during rush hour, declaring his indiscretion to the world. (With video! Clicky-clicky! I’ll wait!)

All things considered, the guy got off lightly. I believe the traditional “I screwed someone else” gift involves precious stones, but you can get a piece of posterboard for what, 79 cents?

Downtown, History, Monumental, Penn Quarter, The Mall
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Monumental: Freedom Plaza

Photo courtesy of
‘Freedom Plaza’s Mini Scale’
courtesy of ‘CathyLovesDC’

“Put yourself in the map”. That’s what I always tell my friends when they’re feeling turned around and lost. But not everyone has the appreciation for maps that I do, which is why I was so excited that I could literally put myself in the map at Freedom Plaza, and maybe take a friend or two with me to show them how it’s done.

Located just east of the White House at 14th and Penn between the Ronald Reagan building and the National Theatre, Freedom Plaza is one of those places in DC that you’ve probably already been to and never really noticed. The first time I was there was for the “Light the Night” walk for blood cancers which used the plaza as the basecamp for the start of the walk. It was dark out, and I had that feeling of: “This is probably somehow important – I mean it IS in the heart of Washington – but I can’t really tell in the dark.”

Different colored stones and brass inlays create a smooth, flat, and rectangular depiction of L’Enfant’s plan. The layout, the inscriptions, and the history are subtle and easily missed – unless you know why you’re there. Similarly, ironically shaped patches of grass stand out as awkward additions to the plaza until you realize they symbolize the National Mall.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Wine It Around The World

MBZ Vinifera Westin Sheraton 017

If you ever find yourself in Reston (as I did last Saturday) and you’re looking for a unique, chef-driven, alcohol-involved concept you’re in luck. Why you’d ever be in Reston looking for those things is largely beside the point. The point is, you can find all of those things at Vinifera.

Vinifera Wine Bar & Bistro hosts “Vinifera’s World Tour” dinners, which feature “an eclectic mix of food, wine and music” from different regions of the world. We were there on Pacific Rim night, and were offered sake or wine flights with all kinds of delicious regional food pairings. The food and wine I got, the music, uh not so much. (Tangent: There was though, a memorable epic Titanic-type song that played over the speakers that made my partner-in-dining-crime Karl wonder if monumental things were about to happen, like dinosaurs roaming the patio, or a fireball heading straight for our table.) Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Road Closures for Streetcar Installation

Photo courtesy of
‘TTC PCC Streetcar’
courtesy of ‘Commodore Gandalf Cunningham’

The Washington Post and Express are reporting that there are a couple of intersections along H St NE that will be closed during the day this week so city workers can install tracks for those crazy new streetcars.

Today, it’s the intersection of 4th and H, and Friday the intersection of 7th and H will be closed. This does make it seem like the streetcar thing is actually happening, despite planning problems and delays in the early stages. Greater Greater Washington has a great post with more details on the project (and a map!).

The Daily Feed
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Chipotle in Your Pocket

Photo courtesy of
‘norma jean loves chipotle’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

Okay, so this isn’t technically DC-specific, but the number of you all who Twitter about getting Chipotle for lunch leads me to think you might be interested anyway.  Chipotle’s launching an iPhone app that will let you build, order, and pay for your Chipotle burrito at your preferred local Chipotle location. You can save the burrito independently of the location so that you can easily order the same burrito at a different Chipotle.

This is simultaneously the best AND the worst thing that has ever happened to me, I think. I just hope California Tortilla doesn’t get any similar ideas…

We Green DC
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From Waves to Grain: New Green Flicks

Photo courtesy of
‘Surfer Rides Wave Brought by Hurricane Bill’
courtesy of ‘michelemeek’

Take a break. Right now, really, and watch the lush, smooth, curling waves on this trailer from BlueGreen. Ahhh, the beach! I can even feel the sand between my toes.

BlueGreen, they say, is a documentary about the human connection to the ocean. That sounds wonderful, and I think I vaguely heard people saying as such on the trailer. But mostly I was mesmerized by the waves and the surfers sliding along them, including stars Keith Malloy, Layne Beachley, and Robert August. Robert “Wingnut” Weaver narrates.

BlueGreen is one of three summer movies with an earth-friendly bent that have screenings around town in the next few days. The next few hot, dog days of summer, that is — days perfect for slipping inside a chilly theater.
Continue reading →

All Politics is Local
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Health Care Town Hall Fun Comes to Our Backyard

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Photos courtesy of Karl Johnson

Congressman James Moran (D-VA), who represents Virginia’s 8th congressional district which covers a large chunk of northern Virginia including Arlington and Alexandria, held a health care town hall meeting tonight at South Lakes High School in Reston, VA. He didn’t go at it alone, however, as he was joined by Gov. Howard Dean. Town halls across the country have become infamous for the shouting and protesting of people against the current health care reform efforts and they hit a dramatic peak when Rep. Barney Frank last week, now famously, told a constituent that arguing with her was “like arguing with a dining room table” because of her ill-informed question asking why he supports Nazi policies.

Tonight’s event started off with very long lines, which began forming hours before the doors were to be opened, protruding out from both sides of the school. The gym’s capacity was close to 2,500 people seated and perhaps another 500 standing. The doors had to be closed at around 7pm, when the program was to start, because the limits had been reached despite those still waiting outside. The media was out in mass for the event and live coverage was provided on CSPAN. The media, and perhaps a large percentage of the constituents, came out to witness what was sure to be an interesting night. Most did not leave disappointed.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Potomac Man Drives Self-Converted Electric Car

Photo courtesy of
‘Black Dodge Neon’
courtesy of ‘yaybiscuits123’

WaPo brings us a story today about Michel Bonard, of Potomac, MD, who has converted an old Dodge Neon into an efficient electric car. It now requires him zero gallons of fuel to get around town! As long as that trip is under 30 miles (the capacity of the charge), he can silently roam around in this ultra-eco and economically friendly Neon. Michel completed the conversion in his own garage and is proving what a little know-how and ingenuity can do to solve some of the biggest problems facing us today (that would be the whole energy thing).

Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
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Sports Fix: Redskins Preview

Redskins
Redskins photo courtesy of Ben Domenech

Our Redskins Preview comes to us courtesy of Ben Domenech, editor of the New Ledger, and lifelong Redskins Fan.

Fellow fans of the Washington Redskins, I have nothing to offer you but horrible tales of impending mediocrity and inevitable despair. Oh yes – we suck again.

If there’s anything I’ve learned from 27 years of cheering for the Washington Redskins, which my mother swears began when I was still in diapers, it’s that under Joe Gibbs, the Redskins are at least a respectable franchise, and occasionally a good one. The Gibbs years of old were magnificent, yes — something I’ve appreciated all the more as I’ve gotten older. We’ve since been able to appreciate both the cheap suckitude of the flailing Norvous years of the dying squire, and the expensive, flashy suckitude of Dan Snyder’s entertaining obsession with shiny objects.

What do you have at the end of all those years, with great players and terrible players come and gone? A team that will beat teams they should, lose to teams they should, and still, somehow, command your pocketbook like none other. Continue reading →

Alexandria, The Daily Feed
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Alexandria to Name New Chief Today

Photo courtesy of
‘Alexandria St. Patrick’s Day Parade’
courtesy of ‘_rockinfree’

For the first time in the city’s 260-year history, Alexandria will officially name its first black police chief. City Manager James Hartmann is expected to announce the appointment of Acting Police Chief Earl Cook to the position at a press conference later today. Cook has been a member of the Alexandria Police Department since 1979 and was serving as executive deputy chief when former chief David Baker ran into some trouble.

Congrats to Chief Cook on his appointment!

Essential DC, Life in the Capital, The District, We Green DC
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Revamp: Stoddert Elementary & Recreation Center

EEK schematic of proposed Stoddert entrance

EEK schematic of proposed Stoddert Elementary School

As WeLoveDC’s Georgetown/Glover Park resident reporter, I considered myself fairly well informed on the general neighborhood on-goings. However, I was completely stumped about a month ago when on my daily commute a passed the Stoddert Recreation Center fields to see them completely fenced off. I was even more confused when the only construction sign announced a “Geothermal Renewable Energy Project.” What the heck did that mean? And how would this project affect the adjacent elementary school and the playing fields that were now fenced in?

It turns out that both Stoddert Elementary School, built in 1932, and Stoddert Recreation Center are getting a much needed overhaul. The existing 18,000 square foot school, which provides pre-K to 5th grade education to approximately 300 DC children, will grow by about 46,000 square feet. The addition will include classrooms, a publicly accessible gym and multiple purpose rooms to service the neighborhood community. Grounds work will affect both the school and the accompanying recreation center with a new entry plaza, new trees, a 40-car parking lot; reconstruction of the existing softball and soccer fields (from a personal point-of-view, this is HUGE as the existing fields were a twisted ankle/busted knee waiting to happen), a refurbished playground and a new tot lot. While the construction is still ongoing, you can check out Ravenscroft’s offering to enroll your child the upcoming school year. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Cupcake Chaos


Happy Customers by Max Cook

We love free things.  We also love cupcakes.  When you combine those two things together you get a glorious thing: free cupcakes.  It just rolls off the tongue nicely doesn’t it?  But what would you put yourself through to get a free cupcake vs actually paying for one?  Would you wait in line for 15+ minutes?  Apparently so.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, We Green DC
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Green Houses

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_1860’
courtesy of ‘soundfromwayout’

Get out your hankies. The “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” TV crews are here, and they’re painting the town…green?

That’s right. They’re rebuilding the nonprofit Fishing School in DC and the Hyattsville home of Nikema and Tamara Tripp, both with energy-efficient features. The masterpieces will be unveiled on Saturday, to tears of joy.

This isn’t the only extreme green makeover in town. Carbonfree DC soon will be doing the same for 20 homes in Deanwood and Shaw.

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo


Blue Angel by M.V. Jantzen

I love Peeps.  The delicious tiny birds and bunnies come in a variety of pastel colors, have emotionless expressions on their cute, little squishy faces, and have become an integral part of our Easter celebrations.  Hell, even if you don’t celebrate Easter, it’s still fun to stuff these fluffy blobs of sugar in your face, chewing on their boneless, chemical-laden bodies. They’re completely harmless unless you’re a diabetic or are trying to watch your weight…or until they decide to kill you.  Sometimes it’s those that you least suspect who can cause the most amount of harm, and in this case it appears to be a giant blue Peep.  Revenge is sweet.

In all seriousness, the Peeps that you have no doubt noticed invading our city are the work of local street artist, DIABETIK.  These wheat pastings started cropping up during the winter and have been multiplying like, um, rabbits.  Along with the bitten Peeps you may have noticed other distressed treats such as broken gingerbread men and melted ice cream cones.  I wonder what’s next for DIABETIK?  Cupcakes that have been stepped on?  Jolly Ranchers covered in ants?  No matter what crops up, be on the lookout for mistreated treats looking for revenge, for you may be their next victim.

The Daily Feed
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Report a bad toupee, make $1000

Photo courtesy of
‘Bang!’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’

Arlington County police are on the lookout for a man who has made at least one failed robbery attempt and possibly another; it’s unclear what happened when he went into a bank and seemed to start to write a note but then left. It’s completely clear what happened at the check cashing joint he went to later: he demanded money from a clerk and discharged a firearm. Nobody was hurt but this sure reads like a desperate person getting more erratic. Based on the look of the wig he chose to disguise himself with this fellow is already past reason and has taken leave of his senses.

Kidding aside, if you recognize the picture on the linked news release don’t deal with the guy yourself; call the number and let the cops deal with him. Armed and panicked is scarier than garden-variety criminal.

We Love Food
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We Love Food: El Pollito

Photo courtesy of Me

El pollito, courtesy of Me

Overall I’m inclined to agree with Carl about the crack metaphor: it’s overused, and unless you punched your mother in the face or [redacted] someone’s [redacted] and then let them [redacted] in order to get it, then NO, that chicken ISN’T like crack.

When Tom Sietsema went and checked out El Pollito in Crystal City, however, that’s exactly the comparison someone used in front of him in line. Crack, that is, not the punching your mother stuff. My darling wife and I were delighted to see this review, since the place that used to occupy this storefront looked like it had about 9 customers over the six-month period it was there. Overall we won’t frequent a restaurant that doesn’t seem to do some business – old food is just not conducive to a good dining experience.

So when we went and got some takeout there on Friday evening we were a little concerned to walk in and find the place completely empty. However the rotisseries are right there in plain view and a simpler menu like this makes it less of a concern to me than a larger menu and a closed kitchen, so we went ahead and picked up our order.

Which was simply -eh-.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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National Zoo: It’s Got Sex Appeal

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Photo courtesy of Michael Oar

Think the National Zoo is boring? Hah! You’ve obviously never seen turtles having sex. Michael Oar of Alexandria took a trip there yesterday and snapped this great shot of reptile love making at its finest. Look for baby turtles all over Woodley Park in the near future, these guys really went at it.

As a side note, I thought about including some interesting scientific facts about turtles and their reproductive process, but when I Googled “turtle sex” I was immediately turned off of that pursuit. Yes, I Googled “turtle sex”.

Have you been to the Zoo lately? You are sooo missing out.