Daily Archives: December 4, 2009

The Daily Feed, We Green DC
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Woodbridge Aspires to Have World’s First Green Car Wash

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘constantly_Jair’

The little car wash that could is chugging away in Woodbridge.

Yesterday, groundbreaking ceremonies were held for The Smart Car Wash, which is seeking to become the world’s first car wash to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

The Smart Car Wash will re-use over 90 percent of its water, reduce noise and light pollution, use technology that cuts equipment power requirements in half, and wash cars only with bio-friendly chemicals. Designed with sustainability in mind, it will follow guidelines from the US Green Building Council.

Soon, you’ll be able to get your car green-clean at the Smoketown Shopping Plaza near Potomac Mills.

News, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Cocaine Smuggled Inside A Chicken at Dulles

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

Drugs get smuggled in and out of this country just as often as teeny boppers buy Jonas Brothers records. So why did Wagner Mauricio Linares Aragon, 32 of Guatemala, think it was a good idea to smuggle close to $4,3000 worth of cocaine inside of a carry-out chicken at Dulles International Airport? My best guess is that it hasn’t been done before (as far as federal/local authorities know).

Aragon was found carrying 2.3 ounces of cocaine inside his carry-on chicken during a second inspection by Customs and Border Protection early Sunday morning according to officials.

“Officers have seen many unique narcotics concealment methods, and they all present the same challenges to discover them,” Christopher Hess, director of the agency’s Port of Washington, told the Washington Times.

Aragon and his smuggled stash was turned into the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. So a word to the wise — don’t smuggle your illegal narcotics inside a cooked chicken. You WILL get caught.

The Daily Feed
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Will the gay marriage vote wait till Jan 5?

Photo courtesy of
‘Gavel’
courtesy of ‘David Michael Morris’

Today’s DC Register had no mention of a newly scheduled legislative session. As I mentioned Wednesday that means that under normal operating procedure there’s won’t be a session where the council can have the second reading of the gay marriage bill between now and the 28th. They could publish a notice in next Friday’s register for a session with less than 15 days notice “upon good cause found” but it’s hard to imagine what that would be.

As we know, once the mayor signs the bill it has to go to Congress for their 30 day optional meddling period. The rules are that the clock doesn’t tick unless they’re in session. Section 602-10(c) of the Home Rule Act spells it out:

such act shall take effect upon the expiration of the 30-calendar-day period (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, and any day on which neither House is in session because of an adjournment sine die, a recess of more than three days, or an adjournment of more than three days) beginning on the day such act is transmitted by the Chairman to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate

So being in a big rush to send this off benefits nobody at all, particularly if it opens the door to a legal challenge over whether or not the council followed appropriate procedure and allowed enough time for public comment.

The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: A Christmas Carol

02h_Marley_Scrooge

Tiny Tim has always had the striking ability to make me shed a few tears. Wednesday night’s presentation of A Christmas Carol at Ford’s Theatre was no exception.

If you’re looking for a true holiday treat this season, get your tickets to see A Christmas Carol as soon as possible. Not only were Christmas carols stuck in my head for the 48 hour period following the show, but my desire to give to those in need this season was completely rekindled.

The Ford’s Theatre cast was full of youth and passion that was easily apparent during the numerous musical sequences throughout the show.  Director Michael Baron of the Signature Theatre undertook this timeless tale with the intention of creating “a world that evokes the spirit and time period of the Charles Dickens story but with a touch of fancy to celebrate the holiday season.” His use of music and dancing allows for a certain degree of audience involvement — because it’s hard to not sing along to the classic caroling songs this time of year.

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The Features
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We Love Really Cool Gifts

Photo courtesy of
’12/3/09 – “Santa’s Back in Town!”‘
courtesy of ‘heylovedc’

The holiday season is upon us, and whether you’re a partisan of Santa Claus, Baby Jesus, or Hanukkah Harry, it’s the time of the year when we’ve all got gift-giving on the brain. But you, dear We Love DC reader, do not want to give just any shiny, mass-produced bauble to your nearest and dearest, oh no. You’re the discerning type who wants to find something handmade that can’t be bought at your nearest Stuff-Mart.

Fortunately, DC is full of artists and craftspersons who make all kinds of unusual things for you to choose from.

richant1RichAnt is a self-taught painter who does brightly-colored images, usually of trees and other botanical themes. RichAnt’s Etsy shop ranges from large-ish paintings suitable for being the focal point of your living room (“Winter Blues” is my favorite) all the way down to these cute little glass pendants.

Also in the vein of original art you can hang on your wall or put in your pocket, there’s ArtShark Designs. I mentioned ArtShark last year as well, but I’m still so enchanted with the City Love series that I thought I’d mention it again. And of course, there are two DC-related images: DC Love – Capitol and DC Love – Washington Monument, which also comes in a pink cherry blossoms edition. If you’d rather have them in more portable form, the designs also come printed on Moleskine notebooks and notecards. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Does DC Have a Cougar Scene?


Cougar by digitalART2

Is DC too nerdy intellectual to have a cougar scene?  That’s the conclusion reached in this hilarious McSweeny’s undercover cougar investigation by local Holly Jones.

First things first, if you’ve had your nose buried in legal briefs for the past few years, let’s get you up to speed on the terminology.  According to Urban Dictionary (the ultimate source for cluing in the clueless), a cougar is:

A 35+ year old female who is on the “hunt” for a much younger, energetic, willing-to-do-anything male. The cougar can frequently be seen in a padded bra, cleavage exposed, propped up against a swanky bar in San Francisco (or other cities) waiting, watching, calculating; gearing up to sink her claws into an innocent young and strapping buck who happens to cross her path.  Man is cougar’s number one prey.

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The Daily Feed
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Eats Shoots And Leaves

Photo courtesy of
‘Resting’
courtesy of ‘Daniel.Techie {TCP/IP} @ 127.0.0.1’

You’ve probably heard by now that DC’s favorite baby, Tai Shan, is moving back to China soon. Which is a sad thing for those of us who have watched him grow up, but you know, a panda can’t live with Mom & Dad forever. Tai Shan is four-and-a-half now, the age at which a young panda should be looking for a nice girl panda, present her with a bouquet of bamboo or perhaps a beet cake, and then have absolutely no idea what to do with her.

Ah, our little guy is getting ready to strike out on his own. It does bring a tear to the eye, no?

Crime & Punishment, The Daily Feed
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Keeping Safe During The Holidays

Photo courtesy of
‘Police Presence in Petworth’
courtesy of ‘Wayan Vota’

With the holiday season in full swing, it’s important to note that thefts and robberies normally increase during this time of year as we’re out of the house shopping, and carrying around more money and merchandise than normal.  So let’s keep in mind, these Neighborhood Watch Program safety tips/ reminders:

· Carry your valuables wisely.   Do not keep cash in your wallet or purse.  Keep cash in your inside pocket and only carry the credit cards you will use that day.

· Do not leave valuables in your vehicle.  If you must leave packages in your car, lock them in the trunk or in the glove compartment.  Remove your radio faceplate and lock it in the glove compartment.  Never leave your vehicle engine running while away from your car, even for a moment.  Never leave your GPS, mounting bracket, or cord visible.  It is best to remove them. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Farewell, Daily Candy DC

Photo courtesy of
‘Stressed spelled backwards …’
courtesy of ‘christaki’

Yesterday afternoon brought the sad news that Daily Candy will cease publication of all but 5 of its city-specific email newsletters, which means that Daily Candy DC will be cut by the first of the year.

It’s sad, because while I find a lot of Daily Candy’s general content to be a little too trendy for my geeky tastes, I could usually count on the DC newsletter to give me good info about new shops, local artists, and other happenings around town. I’m not ashamed to admit that it gave me ideas for posts here on more than one occasion. So we’ll be pouring one out for our fallen bretheren at the next We Love DC Authors meeting.

News, The Daily Feed
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Polls: Gray > Fenty

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_0131’
courtesy of ‘KOMUnews’

It’s hard to poll for mayor when there’s only one candidate. It’s just Mayor Fenty who’s tossed a hat into the ring for the mayorship. However, that’s not stopping people from paying pollsters to make phonecalls. The AFL-CIO polled 500 likely voters and pitted Mayor Fenty against three imaginary rivals: Kwame Brown, Vincent Gray and Michael Brown.

The results? Well, for imaginary opponents, Mr. Mayor isn’t doing as well as he’d probably like. Against Council Chair Gray, he’d lose 43%-39%. Against Kwame Brown, he’d edge out a victory, 42%-40%. Against Michael Brown, another win, 44%-37%. It’s hard to compete with candidates that don’t exist, because their flaws can’t be pinned down or addressed. SO, they have that going for them, but it’s not easy to be a mayor whose whole purpose in life seems to be to spin up the Council, so, I’d say these poll results are pretty solid.

The Daily Feed
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Bicycle Film Festival This Weekend

Photo courtesy of
‘lonely’
courtesy of ‘m hoek’

If you like riding bikes and watching films, have I got the activity for you this weekend!  The Bicycle Film Festival is visiting 37 cities this year, and this weekend is DC’s turn!  Tonight is the kick-off party at Asylum and film screenings are tomorrow at the Navy Memorial Theater at 5, 7, and 9 PM.  There’s something for everyone– topics range from cyclocross to the world’s longest bike race and bike polo.  Tickets to screenings are $8 and are available online.

As for how to get there?  Um, hello.  Ride your bike.  WABA will be providing free valet bike parking!

The Features, Where We Live
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Where We Live: Neighborhood Superlatives

Photo courtesy of
‘Foggy Bottom NH Ave.’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

When I first started writing the Where We Live feature back in April, I didn’t know all that much about DC’s neighborhoods.  I’ve had a lot of fun exploring DC’s neighborhoods and learning more about how they evolved into the great places they are today.  So to wrap up the year (not this feature, don’t worry– we’ve got several more DC neighborhoods to profile and then we’ll be heading out to the suburbs in 2010!), I thought it’d be fun to share some of the most interesting parts of some of the seventeen DC neighborhoods I’ve checked out.  So read on to learn about the most controversial Where We Live, the bloggiest neighborhood, the one thing that every person I’ve interviewed tells me they love about their neighborhood, and more!

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