The Daily Feed

Show Beckham Who’s Hotter & Win Free Tix

Photo courtesy of
‘DC United at RFK – Now and Forever -5858’
courtesy of ‘Joe Tresh’

So yesterday I told you to get your tickets FAST for Saturday’s D.C. United soccer match against L.A. Galaxy, aka Beckham. If you haven’t taken my advice yet and bought your tickets, now’s your chance to vote “Hot or Not? You make the call,” but this time, you are voting for the home team.

For a chance to win TWO free passes to Saturday night’s game, you must comment on this post with who you think is the hottest D.C. United player! The deadline to enter is tomorrow (Thursday) at 12 noon, and we’ll announce the winner right after, giving you plenty of time to finalize your weekend plans.

To help you in your decision and ALSO to give you a little morning eye candy, check out the D.C. United roster.

Ladies Night is seriously going to be a full of hot soccer boys, so let the voting begin! You may even have the chance to meet your dream boat in person, as several players are expected to make appearances at the pre-game party!

The Daily Feed

Naked Sushi Comes to DC


naked sushi
Originally uploaded by John Sexton

Thanks to Angie Goff, who wrote about naked sushi coming to DC. I had heard of such things but always imagined it was a myth. However, Goff writes:

I remember going to events like this when I lived in LA! Nyataimori, Also known as ‘Naked Sushi’ is Sushi art on a woman’s body, came from the ancient Japanese culture, where Tokyo is world famous for this type of dinner theater and art practice. It happens this Friday the 21st, 2009 11:30pm-Midnight with Legendary Sushi Chef Niki Shimasaki (Dragonfly) at Current Lounge located at 1215 Conneticut Ave, NW DC. RSVP/ Table – litonevents@gmail.com // 703.930.0338

One big drawback I see is that I imagine the sushi will not be vegetarian. But what do you think – should sushi be served on naked women? Maybe I am old-fashioned but this seems rather exploitive. Would you go to a naked woman sushi party?

Me, I don’t even go to parties with strippers when invited by friends. You?

The Daily Feed

MD Delegate Uses Police Helicopter to Propose.

Photo courtesy of
‘A Dandy Night for a Cruise’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’

Ordinarily, Baltimore shenanigans are rather outside the geographic scope of this site, but I hope you’ll agree that in this case, the Hilarity Exemption is in play. (And if not, please scroll on by, this will only take a minute.)

Maryland state delegate Jon S. Cardin (delegate from Baltimore County, and nephew of US Senator Ben Cardin) recently decided to surprise his lady love with a marriage proposal on a boat ride. He asked the Baltimore marine police to do what Del. Cardin describes as “a five-minute safety check,” but what the Baltimore Sun describes as more like a raid, complete with hovering police helicopter, during which which officers “searched” the boat for contraband, before finding a box which contained the engagement ring. (She said yes, in case you were wondering.)

Unsurprisingly, the delegate is experiencing some backlash for this use of police resources to create ambience for his proposal. Del. Cardin, if I may offer some advice, your neighbors down here in DC can help you with this. Marion Barry can tell you ALL ABOUT misappropriating public resources for your love life.

The Daily Feed, We Green DC

“Glamping”? Oh, Come On.

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_0097’
courtesy of ‘puregin’

Did you see this in today’s Express — that you can go glamorous camping, or “glamping” in Maryland?

Here’s how it works. If you want to go camping but are simply too lame to set up your own campsite, you can pay the fine folks at Montgomery County’s Little Bennett Regional Park to do it for you.

For “Camper Ready Camping,” (no hyphen included) they will prepare for you a tent, a stove, a lantern, and two chairs for your pampered behind. (Note that it’s a four-person tent, so either you’ll have lots of room, or two of you will be parking your butts on logs where they belong.)
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History, Mythbusting DC, The Features

DC Mythbusting: Boundary Stones

Photo courtesy of
‘Takoma 1791 Boundary Stone’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Welcome to another week’s DC Mythbusting.  This week we’ll talk about a myth I heard when I first moved to DC– that the city’s boundaries are marked off, every mile or so, with stones.  I heard that these stones had been placed long ago when Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker were surveying the city, and that they’re mostly still there.  I’d never seen them or heard of them outside of that once, so I assumed it was a myth. But I was wrong– this myth is confirmed!

Back in 1791 and 1792, Andrew Ellicott and friends went around the 10-mile square of the planned City of Washington and placed a boundary stone every mile.  The stones had four sides– facing inward towards DC (which read “Jurisdiction of the United States” and a mile number, facing outward (which showed the name of the bordering state, either Maryland or Virginia), and the other sides showed the year the stone was placed and the compass variance at that point.
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The Daily Feed, WMATA

Finally, Some Metro Stations Get Underground Service!

Photo courtesy of
‘Berry’
courtesy of ‘lorigoldberg’

Oh happy day!  News comes from Metro today that they have begun installing wireless service in 20 Metro stations that will allow customers to access the internet and make calls with Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile services as of October 16. This has been a long time coming, and while it’s not the full, system-wide service that has been promised (that won’t be complete until 2012), it is certainly a good start.

This will be the end of Verizon-only service in Metro, with the four providers joining together to build, operate, and maintain the new wireless network.  The firms will also build a second wireless network that will eventually support The Metro Channel, a planned service of system information, news, and advertising in stations, trains, and buses.

So, the good news: more opportunities to check e-mail or make a call if you’re stuck waiting in one of the 20 lucky stations. The bad news: now the rest of us have to listen to more inane conversations while we’re waiting.  Luckily, with three years until the network is complete with service in tunnels, we’ll still have relative quiet on trains (except for those pesky Verizon customers).

The Daily Feed

Secret Service Tagged My Ride


Secret Service Tagged My Ride
Originally uploaded by carlweaver

Another day of the long line of cars turning onto 29th Street to be poked, prodded and sniffed by the Secret Service and my reward? A Secret Service gang tag. Yesterday they marked my car with the X and, since I rarely wash my car, it was still there this morning when I went through, so they gave me an O to go along with it. Two easily identifiable marks.

I don’t know, my friendly, clean-cut Secret Service pals. If you are trying to do gang tags, you might take a tip or two from our MS-13 members over in Arlington and Fairfax. They know how to tag stuff. At least I didn’t get harassed about anything like taking pictures, not that I whipped out my Brownie Hawkeye during the cavity search. Maybe at lunch I will get a few shots of the activity.

The Daily Feed

Get ’em while they’re hot

Photo courtesy of
‘Lady of the Night’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’

The tickets – the hot soccer boys are not for sale – to this Saturday night’s second D.C. United Ladies Night are expected to sell out soon. D.C. United will be playing the LA Galaxy, which means Beckham (hot or not? you make the call) is expected to make a full appearance.

While Ladies Night is of course open to members of the opposite sex, the night will again feature music, complimentary manicures, wine tasting, product samples and demonstrations. However, you will need to dish out an additional $15 to enjoy the Ladies Night party, which does include complimentary pre-game beverages and snacks.

Get the full details on D.C. United’s Ladies Night site.

We Love Food

We Love Food: Marvin

Photo courtesy of
‘Marvin’
courtesy of ‘Erica Wissolik’

Marvin is #100 on Washingtonian’s Best Of list. I thought I should put it out there in front, just because in my mind, it sums up Marvin. It’s not #10 and it’s not even in the top 50, but it’s still a choice pick. Plus, people’s opinions of it, even on our We Love DC authors list serve, vary considerably. Some people believe it to be a hidden gem (not so much on the hidden part any more) and some people consider it totally crap. Me? Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s #100. A neighborhood joint with above-average food, a rooftop deck, and some excellent fried chicken.

Marvin, named after DC native Marvin Gaye, is at the intersection of 14th and U. Thanks to the savvy folks behind Eighteenth Street Lounge, The Gibson and Local 16, Marvin is both a bar hot spot and a tasty evening dining destination. The menu pairs southern with Belgian, and has a little something for everyone. On a recent pilgrimage to The Gibson for an after-work drink, a friend and I stopped by Marvin for dinner and had a mostly pleasant experience. Continue reading

News, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed

Nationals Sign Strasburg for $15.067M

Photo courtesy of
‘Stephen Strasburg’
courtesy of ‘jpangan3’

Congratulations to Stephen Strasburg, who just became the highest paid amateur draftee in the history of Major League Baseball. The #1 draft pick has been paid $15.067M for his services, as broken by Nationals Farm Authority this evening. We’re still waiting for how the deal breaks out, but it will be a 4-year deal, for a total of $15.067M in salary, approximately 50% more than the landmark contract Mark Prior received in 2001 for his signing with the Cubs.

Is it worth it? We’ll see. I’m pleased to see the Nats sign Strasburg for less than $20M, which was the magic number in my head for his first four years. No idea where he’ll end up first, or how quickly he’ll be there, but a good bet would be the Potomac Nationals in the next week or two. Here’s hoping this is money well spent.

The Daily Feed

Valet permit requirements starting

Photo courtesy of
‘vroom’
courtesy of ‘erin m’

The Washington Business Journal reports  that the city is now going to require any operation running valet service more than once to get a permit and pay the city for the spaces used. At $0.50 per hour per 20 feet of curb space – plus the going rate for any blocked-off meters – it’s not terribly prohibitive. The big question is, to me, what were they paying before? The obvious implication is “nothing.” I’d call this an improvement – if the quantity of street parking is diminished by someone operating a valet service then they certainly should compensate us (ie, the city) for it.

Also interesting in the D.C. code (1606.1) is the limit on anyone running an ongoing valet to “not park motor vehicles anywhere in the public space, including, but not limited to, on-street parking, on alleys, metered parking spaces, and areas designated as Residential Permit Parking zones.”

I feel like I see valets parking cars in street spaces all the time. Is that just me?

The Daily Feed

Cocaine Found on 95% of DC Money

Photo courtesy of
‘tip’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

It’s always nice to be number one, isn’t it? The American Chemical Society reported a study that found that 95% of bills circulating in DC are tainted with cocaine. That’s only up 5% from the national average, but, hey, it does put us in the lead.

This study jumps 20% ahead of a 2007 study which found that 67% of U.S. bills were tainted with cocaine. The major percentage jump surprises some researchers (and um, anyone with a wallet?) and brings into question whether the driving factor behind the recent results was the new testing equipment or increased cocaine usage caused by the recession.

The study claims that the drugs get on paper money in three ways. The obvious one: snorting cocaine powder. The dubious one: during drug transactions. And the dirty one: by touching other bills. This means that cocaine powder has infiltrated all of your bills, not just your Benjamins.

While you have a 95% chance of finding cocaine in your wallet at this very moment, the concentatrations are too small for anything very exciting.  There should be just enough in there for bragging rights that DC is number one.

We Love Arts

We Love Arts: Edgewood Mural Jam


Photos by Max Cook

As luck would have it I didn’t end up going to the beach this weekend after all, so I decided to scooter over to Edgewood with my camera to check out Saturday’s Mural Jam and I’m sure glad I did.  What is easily the summer’s biggest public art event in DC, the collaborative mural stretches hundreds of feet and showcases some amazingly talented artists.  Sponsored by the public art non-profit Albus Cavus, the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities, and the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program, the mural has brought people of the community together while giving the participating kids a great exercise in team building and a fun way to spend the summer.  From the DCCAH August newsletter:

This summer, through the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program, a team of energized youth have been working once a week to create a 300-foot long mural in DC’s Edgewood neighborhood. Under the direction of Albus Cavus, a DC nonprofit organization, these youth have learned how to finance a public art project, talk to the media, and create art that both reflects the neighborhood and develops strong, healthy communities.

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All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed

Arlington Republicans Becoming Gay Friendly?

Photo courtesy of
‘virginia 11.2.08 – 57’
courtesy of ‘laura padgett’

Arlington is a very progressive and heavily democratic county where Democratic Party candidates have nothing to worry about going into a general election. While that is most likely still the case for the VA House of Delegates race in the 47th district (which includes parts of Court House, Clarendon, Ballston), the republican in the race might just be catching on to some of the progressive values that dems typically use to get elected. While the GLBT community is not huge in Arlington, the majority of local voters are supporters of gay and lesbian equal rights and often use that as a bit of a wedge issue to show why they cannot vote for republicans. Eric Brescia is about to change all of that, at least for his race, according to the Arlington Sun Gazette.

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Sports Fix

Sports Fix: Tough Losses Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_2527’
courtesy of ‘Brad’s Pix’

Redskins
Records: 0-1 (Pre-season)
Place: N/A
Last Two Weeks: 0-1

23-0 is no way to start the pre-season, but these are games that don’t mean much, so keep that in mind as you see all of the rancor over the pre-season opener. But, really, let’s not talk about that just yet, because there are a few things we should really deal with first. For example, the Redskins Twitter policy: “Reporters no longer are permitted to tweet or blog from the field during practice. We were allowed to blog on the first 10 minutes of practice from the field last season, but now we’ll have to leave the field and risk missing something”

You have got to be kidding me, right? This gets crazier, though, because now you can add Chris Cooley to your iPhone. This is crazy-talk. Chris Cooley doesn’t need to be building iPhone apps in the off-season, he needs to be working on catching the football and increasing his speed. But, hey, if you’ve got an iPhone app, I suppose that makes dropping the ball okay.

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Business and Money, Technology, The Daily Feed

MSNBC buys EveryBlock

Picture 3.png

There are a couple of really amazing tools for combining local news, events, crime reports, real estate listings and photos all into a single geo-aware environment, but of them, EveryBlock is probably about the best of them. MSNBC.com announced this morning that they have purchased EveryBlock, for plans unknown. Congrats to former Washington Post Online guy Adrian Holovaty for the sale!

The Daily Feed

Mubarak Visit DC and His Peeps Block 29th Street NW


unmounted
Originally uploaded by philliefan99

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is visiting DC and is apparently kicking up his heels in the wake of Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhall. So Mubarak is staying at the Four Seasons, from what I understand, and people are super worried that he is in danger, on account he says he wants peace in the Middle East but is really unwilling to do much to facilitate that. Also, troubles at home make for uneasy traveling while abroad. On the other hand, I understand he likes his espresso without the ice, thus freeing the Secret Service from protecting him from a solid punch in his man junk.

In the meantime, if you need to traverse 29th Street NW between M Street and K Street, I recommend either rethinking those plans or else get in the long line of cars facing east on K Street, waiting to turn left onto 29th. Be prepared to pop your trunk and hood and have a German Shepherd sniff around your vehicle. He’s a cute dog but don’t pet him unless you want to be eaten by him.

The Daily Feed

Tom DeLay to Appear on Dancing With the Stars

Photo courtesy of
‘The Primary Defenders Go To CPAC’ (Tom DeLay, Center)
courtesy of ‘VictoryNH: Protect Our Primary’

I frequently get the feeling that residents of the Greater DC area are the only people who recognize Members of Congress on the street. I mean, do most people know what their own Representative looks like, let alone someone else’s?  But without trotting out that old “Hollywood for Ugly People” canard, I think it’s fair to say that Washington celebrities are not everyone else’s celebrities.

Which is why it tickles me to no end when those celebrity worlds collide: Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) is going to be on the next season of Dancing With the Stars. Oh yeah, baby. (He’s photo/bio number 16 in that gallery.)