Monthly Archives: August 2009

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Crazy Marylander Arrested At Town Hall

Photo courtesy of
‘IN: Union Members Protest John McCain in Indianapolis’
courtesy of ‘aflcio2008’

Most healthcare protestors look like this. Their signs might say they opposite, suggesting that Obama’s proposed health plan might not be the way to go, but they’re still pretty sane. They’re not, for example, holding up signs that say Death To Obama, and threatening his family.

Folks, this is the kind of stuff that’s so just plain absolutely positively off the reservation that makes me hate the debate that’s started, just for all the breathless crazies.

The Daily Feed
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With or Without Jared, Subs Will Be Everywhere

Photo courtesy of
’80/365′
courtesy of ‘Giovanni Spina’

Contain yourselves, my fellow fresh eaters. This Friday through Sunday, our beloved city becomes the temporary home to over 6,000 Subway franchise owners and employees! The Washington Business Journal will make you green with envy with this great snippet:

“Picture 6,000 people getting together talking about the relevance of the slogan “Eat Fresh,” and you’ll have a pretty good idea what’s going to be going on at the Gaylord National Resort this weekend.”

Umm….awesome! But the fun does not stop there. The sub convention will also play host for the 2009 Sub Jammers contest with 150 sub-making-masters competing to be the Subway sub-putter-together champ! Brace yourselves for what is sure to be a wild and wonderful DC weekend. I can smell the Subway bread baking now! The hosting of this event single-handedly legitimizes our standing, and solidifies our position, as the top foodie city in all of the land.

Dupont Circle, Food and Drink, Night Life, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Fox & Hounds

"17th Street Patios" by M.V. Jantzen, on Flickr

"17th Street Patios" by M.V. Jantzen, on Flickr

Seriously. Who hasn’t had a drink at Fox & Hounds? The quintessential DC dive bar. Completely schizophrenic depending on season and time of day. Always unglamorous and unapologetic. The grande dame of 17th Street since when, the 60’s? What’s summer in Washington without a visit here, sinking into a plastic patio chair at a perpetually wobbling table and watching the world go by, with some of the best people-watching in the city?

Its official name is “Trio’s Fox & Hounds,” and you can easily order food from the adjacent Trio’s diner to enjoy while you drink (my god, this means you can even get your teetotaller a milkshake). But eating is not the primary activity. If you’re a mixed drink inbiber, be warned – this is the sort of establishment that gives you a glass of vodka with a side of bottled tonic. That is all part of the tattered charm of a true dive. The beer is cheap (no pints or bottles over $6, with $17 pitchers) and the Guinness perfectly poured.

Don’t feel like hanging out on the patio (or find yourself still there after noise ordinances close it down)? It’s a whole different experience inside.

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The Daily Feed
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Rahm Reads to Kids at DOE

YouTube Preview Image

Oh Rahm, you hilarious, mythic, foulmouthed, ballerina and chief of staff… is it possible for you to be more endearing? Rahm Emanuel takes part in the U.S. Department of Education’s Read to the Top program, reading Doreen Cronin’s “Duck for President” to a group of kiddies at the DOE. I think there were as many Rahm asides (met with chuckles) as there was actual text in the book: “Biggest decision Duck has to make? Picking that Chief of Staff. That’s tough.”

The Daily Feed
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Read For Me a Line of Poesy

Photo courtesy of
‘jro @ train of thought, in train of thought.’
courtesy of ‘It’s Holly’

This Sunday night, Big Bear cafe will host its monthly poetry reading – a series called “Cheryl’s Gone.” The event, which begins at 6 p.m., will feature poets Zachary Schomberg, Emily Kendal Frey, and Joe Hall. Schomberg and Frey both hail from Portland, Oregon, and have forthcoming books of verse. I’m duly amused by Frey, whose poems include “Recurring Sex Dream Involving Don Cheadle.” Feed your mind, listen to some words, its what Byron would want you to do.

The Features
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We Love Weekends, 8/15-8/16

Photo courtesy of
‘Flip Flop Weather’
courtesy of ‘e.phelps’

Mmm, weekend. I am so ready for one. With Congress out of town, my commute is easy and I’m thinking it’s time to laze around with some sunscreen and a good book. Here’s what we’ve got going on this weekend:

Max: I’ll be headed to Rehoboth for the first time ever. My plan is to have no plan while I’m there, but it will probably involve basking in the sun, catching up on my reading, playing with my camera, and avoiding the arrival of Monday morning as best I can. If I were staying in town I’d most likely catch a flick at the E Street Cinema, try to find a tennis partner, and make up for the fact that I haven’t had a drink in almost two weeks.

Ben R: This weekend will be a lazy one, a pool of quiet for us to recharge. Had we the time and energy, we would’ve knocked the rust of our ballroom dancing skills so we could hit the Jane Austen Ball at Gadsby’s Tavern on Saturday. Sunday will probably see us hit a local theater for a showing of District 9. Knowing us we’ll want to go somewhere near some good eats, most likely trying our luck with Gallery Place so we can have some tapas at Jaleo. Afterward we’ll probably swing by Proof for some quality downtime.

Tom: Weekends in August mean fresh corn and peaches.  Unfortunately, it also means a mail server migration.  So while I hope to make it out to get a batch of corn to make corn & bean soup, it’s more likely I’ll be slaving away over a hot server.  In the evenings, though, I intend to hit the movies pretty hard, as both District 9 and The Goods come out this weekend.  Perhaps dinner at Columbia Firehouse for another of their excellently delicious Robert E. Lee Roys might come to pass, or perhaps it will be a long session with Bells’ Oberon at RFD before it goes out of style in late September.

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The Daily Feed
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A pile of sadness in a misery bowl

Photo courtesy of
‘Tchotchke, desaturated’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

NBC Washington is reporting that the dogs suspected of mauling a man to death have been put down at their owner’s request. Obviously the worst hand in this situation was dealt to Carter Delaney, who it seems was killed by the dogs he was pet-sitting. His brother, owner of the two dogs, has to live with the loss of his younger sibling and apparent fact that his pets were responsible. Put on top of that the need to make this hard decision and the loss of his dogs… my heart goes out to everyone involved in this tragedy.

The Daily Feed
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Garrett Graff to Helm Washingtonian

Photo courtesy of
‘This edition of the washingtonian is sold out’
courtesy of ‘ShashiBellamkonda’

Well, look at that. Garrett Graff, formerly of Fishbowl DC, is being promoted to Editor-in-Chief of Washingtonian. Being a lad of merely 28 years, and thus not having extensive print experience on his résumé, the weeping and gnashing of teeth about the further decline of journalism has already started, but seriously, this is the magazine that put an old, low-resolution, poorly cut-out, shirtless photo of President Obama on the cover just a scant few months ago. Personally, I think Graff can add some gravitas the mag has been sorely missing.

Of course, he’s only lived in DC for a few years, so cue the xenodweeb whining in 5…4…3… But as you all know, I do not hold to such nonsense. Congratulations on a well-deserved promotion, Garrett.

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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STAY SEATED TIL YOUR STOP.

Photo courtesy of
‘Almost Never is Always Good Enough’
courtesy of ‘Bogotron’

You guys. I just can’t hold it in any longer. I know we’ve talked about this before. But ya’ll, YA’LL, I’m going nuts over here. I just CANNOT TAKE IT and need to issue a PSA.

Dear Metro Rider: Here we are, happily co-existing, two lucky seated people on a morning train. I’m reading my Express and doing my best to drown out the world with my ipod. You’re doing your crossword puzzle. We’re two peas in a pod. As we sail from station to station, we’re fine. You’re cool. I’m not thinking anything of you. Until halfway through the journey from our previous station to our next station, you decide it is time to stand up and move towards the door. The tunnel is still dark. The train is still moving. We’re at least a good solid three minutes from the time we’ll even be gliding into the next station, but now! YOUR TIME IS NOW! Something goes “click” inside your bird brain and you just Cannot Sit There Any Longer. So you ask me to move. Now you’ve done it. Here I have to interrupt my happy Express reading, gather my lunchbox, put away my blackberry, stand up, scoot over, make the six people standing next to our seats move, awkwardly grab the pole to keep balanced because I’m not very good at Metro Surfing, drop my lunchbox, pick it back up, apologize to the five people I’ve bumped into, and then at the most inopportune moment the driver slams on the breaks and we all go flying. Then you’re all up on me, stepping on my toes, rubbing your stranger germs on me, and then the Metro driver accelerates and we all fly forward. IT ALWAYS HAPPENS. And we did this whole dance while in motion, in the DARK TUNNEL, FAR AWAY FROM YOUR STOP, just so you can shuffle awkwardly towards the door and hover for the next two minutes.

IF YOU HAD JUST WAITED TIL WE STOPPED ALL OF THIS DRAMZ COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED. This? THIS IS MY NEW METRO PET PEEVE. I used to hate Pole Hogs (I still kind of do) but I’ve gotten better about them since I learned some defensive knuckling skills and decided that my new signature style is large cocktail rings (aka weapons of back destruction) and have gotten good at using them. But you? You random-stander-upper-er? I HATE YOU. YOU ARE THE WORST.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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New Goaltending Coach for Caps

Photo courtesy of
‘arturs irbe playing for dynamo riga’
courtesy of ‘Uncleweed’

The Washington Capitals have announced they’ve hired Arturs Irbe as the team’s new goaltending coach. Dave Prior, the former coach, resigned recently after 12 years in that position in order to spend more time with his family.

Irbe is a 13-year veteran of the NHL, serving time with San Jose, Dallas, Vancouver and Carolina, as well as the goalie for the Latvian national team in the 2002 and 2006 Olympics. His last season in the NHL was 2003-04; he finished his career with a 2.83 GAA and a .899 save percentage.

Is this the piece the team needs to stabilize their goalie situation? Possibly. Though I’m fairly certain the team needs more stability IN the net, not necessarily in supervising it.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Hazmat Northwest

Photo courtesy of
‘PICT0036’
courtesy of ‘tochichi’

Just off the campus of then-tiny American University, in the years leading up to the first World War, open research was conducted on chemical weapons here in DC. The site in the Spring Valley neighborhood, now known as Pit 3, is once again under wraps as yesterday a test dig found a glass flask still containing mustard agent just two feet below ground. Next steps will be a testing of the soil in the area where the glass flask was found, followed potentially by the rebuilding of the decontamination structure on the site just off Glenbrook Road.

Getaways
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Getaways: Richmond

Richmond The National
The National by Corinne Whiting

When you’re a traveler who’s inclined to ration funds and vacation leave for passport-dependent voyages, it’s easy to forget there are adventures to be found closer to home. So a couple Fridays back, a few friends and I bid farewell to our D.C. offices a wee bit early and joined the masses traveling south down I-95. (Fortunately we’d come prepared for gridlock, chock full of patience and playlists.) Our mini-vacation destination? Richmond, incidentally the state capital located at the fall line of the James River in Virginia’s Piedmont region. But of interest to us that evening? A show by those lovable North Carolinian folk rockers, The Avett Brothers.

We whizzed into town excited to begin our less than-24-hour southern tour. Best not to dwell on details of actual travel times (roughly double our estimate) and revamped dinner plans (we’d dreamed of buttery Southern goodness at Comfort, yet made do with hurried turkey clubs in an ambiance-less Marriott dining room). But no matter, the slow-as-molasses waiter was friendly, and the Turning Leaf he poured sufficiently chilled. We instantly settled into the refreshing change of scene–so few suits, so many beards!–and headed two blocks down Broad Street to The National.

The historic National theater, reminiscent of Falls Church’s State Theatre, opened with much fanfare in 1923 as the newest addition to the then-thriving Richmond theater scene. Inside this Italian Renaissance Revival space, described by one reviewer as “handsome, stately, adorned but not ornate…,” acts ranged from vaudeville performers and artists like Orson Welles to silent movies, which were accompanied by musicians in the orchestra pit below (the state’s largest). The theater sat up to 1,114 spectators, including those in four second-level boxes that remain intact today. The adored venue was saved from a wrecking ball in 1989 by the Historic Richmond Foundation. These days the ground floor, which gradually slopes for easy stage viewing over neighbors’ heads, is reserved for standing space, and concert goers with balcony tickets sit above. Seven full bars serve thirsty patrons, while tattooed bouncers stand guard around the perimeter.

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The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Today at Work: A Big Bag of Drugs


Bag of drugs
Originally uploaded by carlweaver

A coworker brought a large trash bag labeled “drugs” into our office and has been calling different pharmacies to see what she can do with them. They are old medications from her boyfriend’s father – prescriptions from over the years that she found in the house she and her boyfriend are moving into.

With all the hullabloo over drugs and other flushed nonsense ending up in our drinking water, it’s certainly a bad idea to just throw these in the trash or flush them down the crapper, but how should she dispose of them? The pharmacy technicians she has spoken with are at a loss as well.

The upside to all this is that she resembled a drug-distributing Santa Claus, the sack over her shoulder making a hunch on her back. It was just like Christmas, except with drugs. There’s nothing “good” in there, mind you, just blood pressure meds and the such, pills, vials, liquids, ointments and gel caps for various ailments we will likely all develop as we get old. All of us except Katie, that is, who is young enough to reference her college’s Wikipedia policy. Damn kids.

Any ideas what to do with this stuff? Bueller?

Life in the Capital, The District, The Features
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Why I Love DC: Karl Johnson

Photo courtesy of
‘August Blue Hour over Potomac and DC’
courtesy of ‘ianseanlivingston’

Now that I’ve joined the ranks as an author here at WeLoveDC, it’s time for me to prove that I do, in fact, love DC. No more just talking the talk, it’s time for me to walk the walk (er, write the write?).

It’s a bit of a rarity in this area, but I actually grew up in the DC metro region; though not what you may think of as DC. I hail originally from the quaint little towns of Shepherdstown and Harpers Ferry. That’s West Virginia. And while 70 miles out of the District, it’s still technically part of the DC metro. Full of natural beauty and more American history than you can shake a stick at, I grew up loving the outdoors and the history that surrounded me.

DC is so full of history it hurts – in a good way! History that didn’t even take place here is still on display 24/7 and around every corner. When I go up on my building’s roof in Ballston and overlook the District and the national mall at night, I fall back in love with this city every time. The Monument, the Capitol building, the Lincoln, the Jefferson – this is why I love DC. And we’re just getting started. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Montgomery County Drivers Strike Back Against Speed Cameras

Photo courtesy of
‘Do You Slow for Speed Cameras?’
courtesy of ‘Wayan Vota’

Speed cameras are a great deal for municipalities. In addition to the revenue benefits, they don’t let the cute blue-eyed girl off with a warning, they don’t get accused of racial profiling, and they free up officers to go chase actual criminals. So I can see why a local government would think they were a great deal… until the citizens of that jurisdiction decide they hate the cameras SO much they’ll actually vandalize them to keep from getting caught, as some Montgomery County drivers are doing.

The Washington Times article calls it “an act of civil disobedience,” but last I checked, property damage wasn’t part of the civil disobedience playbook. How many times do you suppose one of those cameras has to be damaged and replaced before it’s no longer worth the revenue it brings in? Does the vandal think he/she/they can keep it up that long?

Comedy in DC
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Comedy in DC: In Your Feed Reader

Jake Young, Courtesy Aaron Webb

So what do I do, when searching anxiously for the next comedy thing to entertain myself with? Comedian blogs. The problem is, standup is not something the translates well to the written word, so there aren’t that many local comics that do it (though Twitter is helping- something about the 140 character restriction mimics the setup/punch structure of live comedy, I think).

But there are a few I follow with some regularity. I’ve mentioned Mike Eltringham’s blog before, when he brought us the joyous news of Dustin Diamond’s standup appearance in Arlington. His blog is pretty consistently funny, full of stuff that wouldn’t boil out to a standup bit very well, but which actually does make the leap to long form blog post pretty well.  Don’t miss his letter to Jesus after David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez tested positive for steroids. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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The Real World: Wikipedia Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘hands wikipedia aussiegall’
courtesy of ‘nojhan’

Remember in college when your professors would yell at you not to use Wikipedia as a source? Well, WHAT NOW PROFESSORS? I’m all grown and have a paying job and I’m USING WIKIPEDIA AS A SOURCE. At least, um, for Real World DC gossip. The tireless RealWorldDCNewz seems to be upkeeping the Real World DC page, and it’s full of all kinds of creepy information, including cast member’s identities and last names. You know you want to look, just give in, dignity be damned.

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Man Hit By Metro Train at West Falls Church

Photo courtesy of
‘tracks’
courtesy of ‘nevermindtheend’

A person on the tracks at the West Falls Church station was hit and injured by a New Carrollton-bound train this morning just after 11am. Service is single-tracking through the area to allow the paramedics access to the scene.

It’s not clear just yet why the person was on the tracks.

Update: Metro is now reporting the man struck by the train has died.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Poor Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA)

Photo courtesy of
‘Mark Warner meets Sonia Sotomayor’
courtesy of ‘Senator Mark Warner’

It’s hard to see the tough times we’re in hit someone we know and like as much as Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), but it’s being reported that Warner has found himself in a bit of a spot, and his colleagues in the Senate are obviously very concerned for him.

Keep on keepin’ on, Mr. Warner, and we’ll totally let you use our shower once in a while. Just let us know.

The Daily Feed
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Judge Way Too Judgmental


Flat Tire Drama on the 403 by The Bees

So aside from banging on a desk with a gavel and yelling “Order!”, what else does a judge do?  The way I understand it is that they wake up in the morning, put their pants on (unlike Carl) one leg at a time, commute to work, change into their judge’s costume in the locker room, then decide how to punish people who have broken the law.  Oh you murdered someone?  Let’s see…firing squad for you.  You haven’t paid your taxes…ever?  I sentence you to become a CPA.  At the end of the day you go back to the locker room, change back into your velour track suit, and stop punishing people.

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