Daily Archives: November 23, 2009

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

Art Smith Gets TV Show

Photo courtesy of
‘Chicken’
courtesy of ‘lorigoldberg’

Once Chicago’s and now DC’s too, Chef Art Smith (Art & Soul) has landed himself a TV show on TLC. I love him. Adorable, fabulous, and totally a big teddy bear, Art’s new show Craving Comfort will give us our necessary dose of the lovable “Oprah’s Personal Chef”.

The Hollywood Reporter says Smith will travel across the country looking for popular comfort food from “fried chicken to apple pie.” Smith has signed on for eight episodes. The show should air on Mondays.

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
By

Yeah, Thanks, We Knew Already

Photo courtesy of
‘”You Are Too Stupid”‘
courtesy of ‘swilkes’

In case you were wondering, WMATA is officially delaying the January SmartBenefits program until 2011. Oh, wait, you already knew that? Really? When did you find out…wait, last week, you say? When GM John Catoe, Jr. announced it at a small budget forum? Or was it from GGW, us, WJLA, the Examiner, or WaPo?

Oh, right. How silly of me. In Metro’s world, it’s not “official” until they put it out as a press release. Well, wait no longer. You’ll note that despite what Catoe and others said last week, this release only says that Metro has delayed the change and the program “will remain as is until further notice.” Which, in Metro’s little world, could be as early as oh, say, tomorrow. So despite what some officials said last week, the program may well not be on hold for all that long – or it could be promised in February. Nice way to help non-federal businesses figure out what the hell to do, that.

You know, I was waiting for this release with great anticipation, ever since we found out in such a half-assed, roundabout manner last week but had no official press announcement on something so huge that affects many commuters in the area. I had high expectations this press release would be a masterpiece of media savvy, an epic piece of public relations literature that would be a shining example to companies worldwide on how to execute the perfect informational piece. With lots of detail, charts and quotes. Because they were taking a long time to craft such a simple message.

Clearly, I had the bar set too high. WMATA? Your communications policies continue to be EPIC FAIL.

Entertainment, The Daily Feed
By

Give the Gift of Local Film Festivals

Photo courtesy of
‘the heights’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Make room in your calendar for a year of opening nights. This holiday, give the gift of the “Red Carpet Pass:” tickets to 23 participating local film festivals – with new festivals being added every week. From documentaries and short films to foreign and local films, D.C. Film Alliance’s movie pass has something for everyone.

For a $300.00 donation ($100 is tax deductible), give your honey the year-long gift that she’ll appreciate more than a gym membership. The passes are on sale now at the DC Film Alliance Web site.

Currently participating festivals: Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

Sculpture Garden ice skating delayed

Photo courtesy of
‘R.P. Hobson & wife on ice skates (LOC)’
courtesy of ‘The Library of Congress’

If you were looking forward to doing some ice skating this fall you’re going to have to find somewhere other than the sculpture garden to to it. The NGA website has the following notice:

Due to technical difficulties with the ice-making equipment, we are unable to open the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden ice-skating rink until further notice.

You can take the metro out to Pentagon City for the moment if you’re determined to do some skating; Pentagon Row’s outdoor rink is open for business already. Anyone got any other favorite ice rinks, indoors or out?

The Daily Feed
By

Rob Cantrell Where Music Should Be

morrisonvelvetsm3 Chord Comedy, the monthly comedy showcase at the Velvet Lounge has been going on for a while now, and with some success (because they get to keep doing it.)  On December 4th, 3 Chord is going upmarket with their comedy because Rob Cantrell, from Last Comic Standing and Comedy Central, will be headlining.

Accordingly, the ticket for 3 Chord Comedy has doubled in price. To $4. $4 to see a comic you would ordinarily spend 5 times as much to see. Just go, already.

YouTube Preview Image
The Features
By

Why I Love DC: Rachel

Photo courtesy of
‘Spinning Out of Control’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

I love DC because I get to see my dad everyday. This might sound simple but I assure you it’s not. Dad passed away in January, just days before the historic inauguration of President Obama.

Streets were flooded with tourists while I was attempting to flee the city I’ve grown to love for dear life. But  if it weren’t for my dad, I would’ve never made it to DC in the first place. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
By

Sports Fix: The Five Sport Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘Jim Zorn’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

Redskins

Record: 3-7
Last Two Weeks: 1-1
Place: Last in the NFC East

Tom’s lack of optimism rings true of this week’s crushing loss for the Redskins against division rivals the Dallas Cowboys. Sunday’s match-up against the Dallas Cowboys came to a sudden halt with a 1-point, 7-6 loss. The worst part about it is that the Skins looked like they’d pull through this time.

What’d they do right? Shaun Suisham had the potential to be a game-winning hero. Instead, he gave his best shot, scoring two fields goals (one in the second and one in the third), keeping his team ahead of the opposition for the majority of the game. The Skin’s defense, along with Jason Campbell’s stellar work on third down plays looked promising.

“Two minutes is what we do very well,” Campbell said. “It wasn’t pressure because there’s still a lot of time on the clock. We felt like we could just continue to run our offense, move the ball, do our no-huddle, do two-minute.”

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

Red Hot Red Ribbon

Photo courtesy of
‘Cocktail’
courtesy of ‘Quinn Dombrowski’

We all know that the next couple of days will be filled with holiday excess. So why not plan to do something noble next week to compensate?

As part of Kimpton’s Red Ribbon Campaign for HIV/AIDS Awareness, a $10 donation will cover your entrance and one drink ticket to their Red Hot Night on Tuesday, December 1. Extra drink tickets are $5 each, with a silent auction featuring a weekend getaway to a Kimpton hotel, airfare included.

At Hotel Rouge from 5:30pm to 8:30pm, all proceeds will go to the Whitman-Walker Clinic. Of course there will be red-themed specialty drinks like the Cordon Rouge – Absolut Ruby Red, grapefruit juice and passion fruit puree – but the best part is helping raise money in the fight against DC’s HIV/AIDS epidemic.

RSVP to the Whitman-Walker Clinic at 202.797.3543.

The Daily Feed
By

$4325 for schools ‘donated’ by 27 HOV violators

Photo courtesy of
‘Lonely’
courtesy of ‘austrini’

WaPo reports today that the Virginia state police handed out 27 HOV tickets during a crackdown initiative on Thursday, including one $1,000 fourth-time offender citation. If you’re the gambling sort be aware, the fines are based on number of violations in the preceding five years. First time, $150, second time $250. Then $500 then $1000.  If it makes you feel any better the money goes into the State Literary Fund, which, according to the article “provides money for schools.”

Interestingly, it’s a little more involved that that. The Literary Fund is mandated by the Virginia constitution and sets a low-water mark for it – 80 million – and anything above that can be disbursed by the General Assembly for various school purposes. The amount below that is controlled exclusively by the Board of Education, subject to the limitations of law that have been set up over the years. The BoE can make loans and investments with it, but Virginia isn’t obligated to back those loans up with anything beyond what’s in the fund.

The BoE seems to be cautious with how they make those loans; the list of what’s been lent out and what’s on the back burner can be found here and there’s a lot more things deferred than paid out. Also interesting, at least to a gadget nerd like me, is one of the limitations on what a borrower can use these funds for: no “Loose technology equipment” but “Technology infrastructure and built-in equipment” is okay. I wonder if this is why these somewhat silly “electronic classrooms” that have become in vogue over the years are so common – is there a funding disparity for stuff based on whether you screw it into a rack in the closet or not?

The Daily Feed
By

Tysons Connector Lunchtime Shuttle Debuts Today

Photo courtesy of
‘015’
courtesy of ‘wfyurasko’

If you work out in Tysons Corner, your lunch options have just expanded.  Starting today, two free lunchtime shuttles will be circulating through the area every 10 minutes.  Every weekday from 10 AM to 2:30 PM, Tysons Connector buses will connect Tysons Corner Center, Tysons Galleria, and various employers in the area (check out the PDF map of the routes).  In such a car-dependent and pedestrian-unfriendly place as Tysons is today, the Tysons Connector is a welcome addition.  Finally, a good way to try out a new lunch place down the block without having to get in your car!

Food and Drink, History, Night Life, People, The Daily Feed
By

A Repeal Day Celebration

Photo courtesy of
‘West End Bistro’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

I can’t remember prohibition.  My grandfather can barely remember prohibition.  But that doesn’t mean that the anniversary of its repeal is bad excuse to drink.  The 76th (thanks Nicole) anniversary of the 21st Amendment is less than two weeks away and DC’s Craft Bartender’s Guild is celebrating in style.  They are hosting the Repeal Day Ball on Dec. 5 at PS7 in Chinatown.  Tickets are available to the public at $100 a pop, which gets you in the door and lots of booze.  If you’re really interested in DC’s bartending scene, you can throw down an extra $50 for VIP tickets, which gets exclusive demonstrations by DC’s best and a chance to meet your favorite mixologists. Tickets are available here.

The Daily Feed
By

Escape Routes for Wednesday

Photo courtesy of
‘Traffic’
courtesy of ‘C Hale’

By the time Wednesday afternoon rolls around, you’ll probably be ready to head home for Thanksgiving, just like most other DC-area residents.  While we’re all hoping that traffic is flowing as smoothly as in the image above, chances are you’ll be stuck in some congestion along the way.  Luckily, the Washington Post has a list of back-up routes to help you avoid the backups on I-95 and I-66.  Some tips: consider an alternative route to avoid the great hated state of Delaware (from the article: “So much driver anger against such a small state!”), take the scenic route to avoid I-66 traffic, and most of all, just stagger your travel times.   Consider coming back to town on Saturday if possible to avoid Sunday traffic– plus, you’ll get out of one more day of forced family time!