By Tom Bridge
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courtesy of ‘Dvorak319’
Due to a traffic accident, I-66 is blocked at the Arlington County line. This will have major repercussions on evening rush, so if you’re headed out of town on I-66 this evening, seek an alternate route or wait a little bit before leaving.
By Katie
The authors at this site love DC (oh really? yes. really.) and are often point-people for people’s questions about the city, where to go and what to do. But aside from our 20 authors, there are other roving DC experts in the city, hidden at every turn. Hotel concierges. They know and love DC (maybe more than our authorship), and I’m sure answer more questions about this city than all of us combined. One of the most-loved and well-respected concierges in the city is the Hotel Monaco’s Luis Colmenares. Luis has huge accolades, he’s a Member of the prestigious Les Clefs d’Or USA, and the Vice President, Washington Area Concierge Association. Luis is even a Notary Public, the man is ready to help assist your every whim.
So what does a guy like Luis love about DC? Well I was able to get the skinny from one of DC’s best advocates.
Katie: How long have you lived in DC, and how did you arrive here?
Luis: I grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, and moved to Washington DC purely on a whim nearly 22 years ago. I originally came just for a one-week vacation, but when I got here, I loved it so much that I never went back home! I worked as a travel consultant for 10 years, and have been a concierge for the past 12.
As a hotel concierge, what’s the most frequently asked question you answer about DC?
More than anything, I am asked for hours and directions to tourist hot spots, like the Mall or the monuments. Recently, I’ve had a surge of questions about Georgetown – what to do there, and the best places to eat and shop.
What’s the one place in DC that visitors should not miss?
Just one? I think the White House is the most important place someone can visit, because it represents the center of American democracy. Just remember that I can’t get tickets for you, no matter how nicely you ask! It all needs to be arranged before you get here.
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By Don
One of our loyal readers sent us a note about WMATA’s eAlerts system and the inability to sign up to get them via text messages rather than email. In fairness to WMATA, the main screen only says “you can receive alerts via email notifying you of Metro service disruptions.” However when you click on the subscribe button you get a popup that says “Receive alerts through email or text message” and the box to enter your contact info says “Enter Your email or SMS address.”
Unfortunately it’s a trap; the box refuses to accept any entry that isn’t a x@y.z format email address. You’ll have to stick with whatever email to SMS gateway your cell provider offers if you want to get the alerts sent to you via text. TechRecipies has the format for all the major carriers here if you don’t know yours.
As to why WMATA’s form is misleading? Unclear. Our tipster asked customer service why it wasn’t working and got a resounding “dunno.” Perhaps WMATA will be expanding to offer this functionality down the road and their text got ahead of their capabilities. Or maybe it’s already in and a coder simply forgot to update the validation check.
By Rebecca
‘Kids in the Air’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’
According to the Q Street Neighborhood Association, the Big Kids Block Party was a rip-roaring, rocking and uber-successful event.
Here are some stats:
-1,048 people in attendance
-26 tapped kegs
-200 Ben’s half-smokes eaten
-585 other hot dogs devoured
-500 oz Mr. Yogato fro-yo grobbled
-100 Julia’s Empanadas consumed
-100 Rice Krispie Treats inhaled
-Countless pounds of popcorn, cotton candy, regular candy, chips, etc. scoffed up
-50 butchered (carved) pumpkins
Most importantly the block party raised $20,151.32, **More than DOUBLED the original goal**, all of which will go to four deserving non-profits.
For those of you who couldn’t make it, they’ll be throwing the 2nd Annual Big Kids Block Party in 2010, after a much deserved recovery.
By Kirk
‘the cask’
courtesy of ‘volcanojw’
It’s time for another item from the DC Omnivore 100 list of the top one hundred foods every good omnivore should try at least once in their lives.
Finding a beer above 8% alcohol by volume isn’t the challenge that it once was. The emergence of the craft beer movement in the past few decades and American beer aficionados unquenchable thirst for unique and challenging brews has caused the market for strong beer to explode. This is not to say that highly alcoholic beers are something new. In nearly every, beer-drinking country aside from the US, breweries and monasteries have been crafting batches of potent beer for centuries. It’s only in America that the trend has recently come into vogue.
If you’ve graduated from the typical grocery store, great American swill, you recognize that not all beer is created equal. There are full bodied beers, crisp and refreshing beers, fruity beers, darker beers, and so on and so forth. Each has something special that makes it unique, but each still has the same basic ingredients (barley, hops, water, and yeast) and each is created with variations on the same, basic brewing process.
By shannon
‘Sustainability’
courtesy of ‘SWP Moblog’
Did you know that half the world’s population lives in cities? Or that within the next generation, more than two-thirds of the population will be urban? The United Nations designates the first Monday of October as World Habitat Day, a day to reflect on the state of our urban environments and reaffirm a commitment to providing decent, affordable housing worldwide. There are three great ways to celebrate World Habitat Day: advocate for housing to Congress, educate yourself on current urban housing issues, or donate time or money to an organization that focuses on housing issues.
There are a number of events here in DC to mark the occasion, including a forum on Livable Communities today at Howard University at 3 PM. The forum is entitled “Planning our Urban Future” and features the Director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs, the HUD Deputy Secretary, the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, and DC’s very own deputy mayor. There are also several events happening throughout the week that focus on housing and urban environments.
By Cathy
‘CakeWrecks’
courtesy of ‘CathyLovesDC’
Last I checked, 384 people had RSVPed to meet Jen Yates, founder of Cake Wrecks, in Bethesda tomorrow night. Unfortunately, the tour for her new book, Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong, has been cancelled. According to her latest post, Jen’s husband is in critical condition.
Cake Wrecks is a hysterical, award-winning blog. If you haven’t checked it out, today might be a good day to send some good vibes to Jen.
And if, perhaps, you’ve already prepped your cupcake for what would have been tomorrow night’s cupcake-sized cake wreck competition, a photo in Jen’s inbox (or our Flickr pool) would surely cheer her up.
By Tom Bridge
‘Caron Butler at the line’
courtesy of ‘afagen’
If you can’t make it out to the facility to watch the Wiz start their pre-season, you can watch it online via NBA.com right now. It’s definitely fall now, and basketball can’t be far off, as we’ve seen the puck drop at the Verizon Center already. Catch all the details on their broadcast, especially for all the news surrounding Agent 0.
By Tom Bridge
‘All that remained from our block of hell’
courtesy of ‘tomeppy’
Borderstan was on top of things this weekend when a body was found inside a building that moonlights as a gay and bi-sexual male sex club at 14th and Corcoran near Logan Circle. One of the commenters on the entry suggests that the death may have been the result of an accidental fall on one of the staircases inside the building. Another is requesting anyone with information about the fall (which took place around 5am on Sunday morning) get in touch with Detective Patterson at 202-645-7065.
This isn’t the first incident at the club, a fire broke out in 2005. I had no idea that Sex Clubs were totally a thing in DC, but judging by this gridskipper map, I’m totally wrong. Huh. Who’d’ve thunk?
By Don
‘November 4th.’
courtesy of ‘dharmabumx’
After last year’s voterpalooza it’s hard to believe there might be anyone motivated to vote who hasn’t already signed up, but who knows. Maybe you turned 18 since then or arguments about thesiss thesis-es? theesees? the papers one writes to get your doctorate. Regardless, today’s your deadline to get registered in time for November’s election if you’re not already good to go. You can get the PDF for the Virginia voter’s registration form to print out and as long as it’s postmarked today you’re golden. The USPS finder will tell you where the closest place is to get the envelope hand-canceled with today’s date.
By Tom Bridge
Everyone’s got an opinion here in DC. We’ve got opinions about politics, about news, about sports, and about pretty much anything we do. It’s great, because everywhere you go, you get people’s passionate side. It also means that pretty much everyone has a “Best Of” list, from the City Paper’s massive Best Of, to the Washingtonian, to even the Arlington County Business Asssocation. Enter the Post Express, which opened their Best Of this weekend.
Somehow we got left off the best blog list, so go right ahead and write us on in!
By Ben H. Rome
‘Fall peaches’
courtesy of ‘afagen’
Good morning. Does anyone else hear “Zombieland” and think of DC on a Monday morning?
Prolong your pleasant weekend fog with some photos taken over the weekend. Hey, at least the Redskins won, right?
By jasmine
Courtesy of National Geographic
Cesar Millan: the man, the myth, the Dog Whisperer, will be in DC today during lunchtime! National Geographic (1600 M St NW) is showing a sneak peek of the new season at 12pm and then Cesar will be signing copies of his new book, How to Raise the Perfect Dog, at 1pm. Tickets are free and on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 11am in the Grosvenor Auditorium lobby. I wonder if he’ll use the shh! noise and bite motion on me if I get too excited…
By Don
a shot from the COD:MW2 trailer
Well, online anyway: the next iteration of Xbox game Call of Duty will be set, at least in part, in Washington DC. The most recent video trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 shows conflict scenes on the mall by the Washington Monument and on the south lawn of the White House.
By Tom Bridge
If you’re looking for something to do this weekend that’s homemade and unique, check out Crafty Bastards on Saturday from 10 to 5 at The Marie Reed Learning Center in Adams Morgan. Don’t take a cab, though, as the cab strike may be going on Saturday, so plan to use Metro and a bus, or park somewhere a good distance away and walk over. It’s always kinda fun to see what the crafting community is up to, and remember: homemade is in this holiday season.
By Tom Bridge
I know, chances are you don’t need another email newsletter in your life, but this one’s interesting enough to consider. UrbanDaddy.com, aimed at the guys who watch a bunch of Entourage, is starting up a DC-specific daily email, designed to point you at the hotspots before they’re hot. I think these tend to be good bellwethers to use to find out what’s going to be crowded this weekend so you can head someplace else. But give it a look.
By Donna C.
‘Prize Winning Pie’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’
If you spend time in that little hamlet that used to be part of DC, you can put in your two cents about what you like best.
Nominations for the People’s Choice ABBIES — The Arlington’s Best Business Awards — are open through Monday.
Write in your favorite dessert, brunch (syrup with chicken and waffles, maybe?) late-night spot and more.
Cakelove founder, former Food Network personality, and DC entrepreneur Warren Brown has been all over the place lately. I spotted him today in this Dell ad on washingtonpost.com, and last week in a TV spot for American Express’ small business products.
I suppose that large companies are lining up to beg small entrepreneurs for their business could be an indicator that the economy is on its way back. In any case, it’s nice to know Brown’s getting some endorsement love what with all the sudden bakery competition in DC. No comment on that weird scarf thing he’s wearing, though.
By Donna C.
When most organizations celebrate an opening, they cut a ribbon. The folks at nonprofit Bethesda Green, which launched its new Education Center and Green Business Incubator yesterday morning, had a different idea. Shiny ribbons made from petroleum aren’t good for the planet, so they strung an invasive vine across the building’s entrance and chopped it up with giant shears.
In doing so, they opened Maryland’s first green business incubator, which will provide offices and support to entrepreneurs and create green jobs for the community. So far eight start-ups are involved, focusing on everything from rain barrels to sustainable food to charging stations for electric cars.
In addition, the new center will be a hub for people like you and me who may like to volunteer for planet-friendly projects. It’s off to a great start. Since forming just last year, this group has led a variety of projects, including adding 15 recycling bins to downtown Bethesda, hosting a local farms tour, researching ways to turn local restaurants’ used cooking oil into biodiesel fuel, collecting 180,000 pounds of used electronics, recycling toner cartridges for businesses and even reusing crayons for kids.
The celebration continues through Saturday, with an open house from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. focusing on sustainability in the community.
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By Katie
‘cherry tomatoes in blue boxes’
courtesy of ‘needlessspaces’
The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center handed out fliers today announcing Capital Harvest, a new foodie event in the heart of the city. On Friday, October 16 and Friday, November 13 Penn Quarter residents and workers will be able to stop by the plaza for local produce vendors and chef demonstrations by Chef Todd Gray of Equinox (one of my favorites!) and others.
More than 18 local growers will be offering a wide variety of freshly picked fruits, vegetables and cut flowers, as well as meat products and seafood. Stop by the plaza from 12:30 to 5 p.m. those Fridays in October and November to partake.
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