Monthly Archives: December 2009

News, The Daily Feed
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Say Goodbye To Free Street Parking On Saturdays

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

There once was a time when parking was free on the street — even if it was metered. That time comes to a close as the new year approaches. You can thank DDOT for that one.

Drivers are required to feed their Saturday parking meters starting Jan. 2 despite any disdain they might feel toward the subject.

WaPo says that this isn’t the only change facing DC drivers when it comes to street parking in 2010. DC is planning to finalize a premium parking program that would hike meter costs to $2 an hour while a couple thousand meters will charge 75 cents per hour.

Is there any positive here? Sunday parking is still free. I’d have to say that in this case — something is better than nothing.

The Daily Feed
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Metro stations to get a cuddle and a glass of warm milk

Photo courtesy of
‘CatSit Sasha Snuggles’
courtesy of ‘dreamponderCreate’

…at least, that’s what immediately occurred to me when I saw the headline: “Metrorail stations to receive extra care and attention” on WMATA’s website.

Turns out, it’s just Metro’s announcement about this year’s phase of their 4-year cleaning and refurbishment cycle, which cleans masonry, repaints surfaces, and just generally tries to keep everything shiny and clean. Not nearly as interesting as what I was thinking, BUT one of the things I think Metro does well, as opposed to a lot of other subway systems, is the whole cleaning-and-station-maintenance thing. You know, aside from the escalators.

The work is done during off-hours when the stations are closed, so you shouldn’t see too much disruption at your Metro station of choice, but check out the list to see if yours is scheduled for “extra care and attention.”

Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Eaglebank Bowl Between UCLA-Temple TONIGHT

Welcome to RFK Statidum

I had no idea that DC had its own college football bowl game until today. But We Love DC did!

The Eaglebank Bowl will be played TODAY at RFK Stadium and will be televised live on ESPN starting 4:30 p.m. between UCLA and Temple.

Never heard of the Eaglebank Bowl? I have a feeling if I hadn’t heard of it until this morning, you haven’t either. So here’s the rundown straight from the source: “The EagleBank Bowl was created and co-founded by Marie Rudolph and Sean Metcalf. The DC Bowl Committee, Inc. was then formed to host the EagleBank Bowl as a community and charitable organization in Washington, D.C. Our title sponsor, EagleBank, and our co-promoter, the Washington Convention and Sports Authority, have both been instrumental in the bowl game’s success.”

The focus of the Eaglebank Bowl is “to recognize and pay respect to the dedication and sacrifices made by all those who serve our country, at both the U.S. military academies and in the U.S. Armed Forces.” Sadly, the California Bruins must now brave the 30 degree weather due a certain team’s inability to fulfill their contractual obligation of playing in the bowl game … seeing as they weren’t eligible. Who might that be? Army.

Army didn’t fulfill their part of the deal by finishing their season 5-7. A team needs six wins to be eligible for a bowl. Oh well.

Game tickets are still available.

Photo by Rachel Levitin.

News, The Daily Feed
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DC No. 2 On 2009 List Of Most-Literate Cities

Photo courtesy of
‘Reading Room’
courtesy of ‘Karen Roe’

A survey conducted by Central Connecticut State University was released, ranking DC No. 2 among the 75 most-literate major cities in the country.

This serves as the good news to last weeks “bad news” ranking DC 36th on the “happiness scale”. Our state of happiness is up for debate but at least we can read!

What was the goal of the CCSU survey? The attempt to, “[…} capture one critical index of our nation’s well-being — the literacy of its major cities,”  study author & CCSU President Jack Miller, said in a news release. “The information is compared against population rates in each city to develop a per capita profile of the city’s ‘long-term literacy’ — a set of factors measuring the ways people use their literacy — and thus presents a large-scale portrait of our nation’s cultural vitality.”

Other cities making the top 10 include: Seattle, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Portland, St. Paul, Boston, Cincinnati, and Denver.

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo


Keep your pets and children inside during a blizzard by gerdaindc

Have you heard the rumor?  Due to the perfect combination of cool and moist weather patterns, DC could be in for a whole lot of snow this winter.  Our twenty inches that fell earlier this month could foreshadow much more white stuff to come.

Being from Denver, I love snowstorms, especially blizzards.  The bigger the better as far as I’m concerned.  I love how quiet things are when it snows and how it can transform a dirty, ugly city into a beautiful, serene wonderland.  Snowstorms can bring random strangers closer together, give people an excuse to stay home from school or work, and make for some great photographs.  Yet despite all of this, some people hate snow, hate the cold, and can’t wait for the sweaty, humid days of summer to return.

We’ve loved all of the snow photos that you’ve been adding to our Flickr pool.  This shot by gerdaindc takes me back to my childhood days when the kids in my neighborhood would build snowmen, go sledding, and depending on how ambitious we were, build igloos.  We may have even thrown snowballs at cars, but in those days it was all just innocent fun.

News, The Daily Feed
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Caps Welcome Chimera, Say Goodbye to Clark, Jurcina

Photo courtesy of
‘Miller Robs Clark’
courtesy of ‘clydeorama’

Welcome Jason Chimera to Caps country. The Columbus Blue Jackets left winger was traded to the team for Capitals captain Chris Clark and defenseman Milan Jurcina yesterday afternoon.

Chimera, who has 8 goals and 17 points on the season, comes at a time when the Capitals are flying high as the top club in the Eastern Conference. With a glut of right wingers and defensemen, team GM George McPhee felt the time for a trade was right.

Columbus has to agree. With one of the worst records in the league this season, they’ve needed some serious help in team leadership and on the blue line; this trade seems to have addressed both issues for them.

While one of Columbus’ most popular players in the locker room and one of the team’s fastest skaters, Chimera hasn’t lived up to expectations in Ohio. He debuted in the 2005-06 season with 17 goals and 30 points and knocked out 15 goals in 36 points in 2007-08. But last year, injuries limited Chimera to only 49 games, with a production of 8 goals and 22 points overall. He does bring energy and edge to the ice, and the Capitals hope he can blossom in their more aggressive style of play.

Both Coach Bruce Boudreau and McPhee said the Capitals won’t select a new team captain immediately.

The Features
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Last Minute New Years Eve Dress Guide

Photo courtesy of
‘NYC holiday’
courtesy of ‘anne.oeldorfhirsch’

It’s happened to all of us ladies one year or another – you’ve been so busy with the holidays that you’ve completely forgotten to go shopping for your New Years Eve dress! Oops! That’s okay, I’ve got a few last-minute quick fixes for you, no matter what your style and budget. So read on for great places to find the perfect “kiss me” dress!

I’ve got some contenders for less than $50, great places to find a dress that’s sure to be one-of-a-kind, some tricky ways to turn an office dress into evening wear, and finally places to snag a show stopping dress that’s sure to get you noticed. So read on, lover girl, let’s get you dolled up. Continue reading →

The DC 100, The Features
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DC Omnivore 100: #49, Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut

Photo courtesy of
‘Waterfall of Sugar’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

It’s time for another item on the DC Omnivore 100 list of the top one hundred foods every good omnivore should try at least once in their lives.

“Hot. Now.”

Once upon a time in my crazy clubkid life there would come a point in the night when the urge for a Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut would become incredibly intense. Friends would pack into cars and caravan down Route 1 to the old production plant in Alexandria with its eccentric diner storefront and sketchy late night patrons. Our eyes would light up like five-year-olds as the blazing neon sign came into view, confirming our desires – yes indeed, there would be hot glazed doughnuts fresh off the “ramp of love.”

Nowadays you can get Krispy Kremes almost everywhere, even overseas, but back when I came to DC from Connecticut the only doughnuts I was familiar with were Dunkin’s cake varieties. So my first bite of this yeast-raised doughnut coated in cracking sugar was nothing short of a sweetness revelation. And I’m not even much for sweets – BUT! A box of warm doughnuts in my lap on a late summer’s night, the delicate outer crunch of sugar followed by the soft dough inside… just heavenly (wow, was that a bit of drool hitting my keyboard?).
Continue reading →

Entertainment, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Real World DC Debuts Wednesday

Photo courtesy of
‘MTV’s “Real World” House in DC for 2010’
courtesy of ‘dbking’

The time has come — the Real World DC makes its television debut THIS Wednesday! Who’s excited? I know I can’t possibly be the only one.

For those of you who are as stoked as myself but aren’t into hosting your own viewing party, we’ve got a couple of alternatives to offer. First: Nellie’s Sports Bar is hosting a Real World DC Watch Party Wednesday night at 10 p.m.

They’ve even got a clever tag attached: “Watch at Nellie’s to see what happened at Nellie’s!”

Not into the Nellie’s scene? That’s okay. There are other viewing parties.

UPDATE (12/29, 10:50 a.m.): The Washingtonian announced one more Real World DC “party” for Wednesday night. Ring in the after-hours lovin’  with cast member Mike Manning at Halo in Logan Circle.

UPDATE (12/28 , 1:27 p.m.): Cast member Josh Colon is scheduled to be at the party at Tattoo Bar starting at 8 p.m. Visit NBC Washington for more information. This event DOES cost you some cash though. So if you’re willing to drop it, then go for it.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Blaze a Doobie for New Year’s

Blazing a doobie at Rock Bottom

I can’t verify that’s what is happening in the picture but that’s how it looks to me. This is an ad at Rock Bottom Brewery in Ballston Mall, advertising a New Year’s Eve party at the popular bar. Check out the guy third in from the left. This is just wrong. For one thing, here in Virginia we don’t put up with the new-age hippie crap you find on the other side of the water. Another thing – I think firing one up like this guy seems to be doing would violate Virginia’s smoking ban.

Readers, take a closer look. What do you think is happening in the picture? If you look close, it appears he might be holding a circle. My Lovely Wife suggested it looks a bit like a condom, but that’s not quite right. It could be a napkin holder he is about to eat, evidence that he either got high in the parking lot or that he has been served too much alcohol.

Folks from Rock Bottom – any comment?

The Daily Feed
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Senate Subway, Then and Now

From historical photoblog Shorpy we get this underground gem:

Senate Subway, 1915

That’s the Senate Subway, c. 1915, just two years after it started operation, part of the whole Capitol Subway System. After the jump, you can see how the Senate Subway still uses open-air cars, though somewhat more modernized.

(Update: Well, boy is my face red; the ‘today’ photo after the jump is actually from the House subway, not Senate. You can tell I’ve never ridden either system, not having had the privilege of working on the Hill myself.) Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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DCA Under Water, Baggage Claim Flooded

DCA Flooded

UPDATE 12/27: WTOP is reporting that all is back “normal” at DCA this morning. Apparently it took over 100 people working non-stop through the night to get the airport terminal back in working shape. Expect heavy wait times and potentially delays for US Air as they try to play catch up this morning.

UPDATE 6:36 pm: ALL US Airways flights out of DCA for today have been canceled. This is being reported from several people via Twitter. It is also being reported that most flights into DCA may be canceled or at least very delayed.

UPDATE 6:00 pm:At least part of DCA is now closed because of this flood. It is being caused by a water main break. There is an amazing video of this below that shows the water pouring down the outside of the baggage claim. Anyone flying into DCA can probably expect some type of delay, especially if flying into C terminal. I’m guessing that A terminal is not really affected by this right now.

I landed at Reagan National Airport just after 3pm today to find the lower level of the C and B terminals, the baggage claim and ground transportation level, quickly being closed off as water poured in from what sounded like multiple sources. At that time, the baggage claim level had a few inches of standing water and rising. There were also very large puddles rapidly forming on the main terminal level as well, just outside the security gate. At this time, we are not sure if the area has been re-opened or if the flood is under control, but either way, I would expect problems and delays if picking someone up at DCA that has checked baggage. Nobody was allowed to go downstairs and no bags were coming out on the belts around 3:20.

If you are at DCA, please let us know of any updates so that we can pass them along to our readers. More pictures and the video after the jump.

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Friday Happy Hour

"My Old New England Home" cocktail

" 'My Old New England Home' cocktail" by Jenn Larsen on Flickr

Did you think we wouldn’t have a Friday Happy Hour on Christmas Day? Surely you jest. At this moment I’m sure there are many MANY people in DC starting to feel the need (and if you’re reading this, you definitely need happy hour, stat!). So I’ll take advantage of the spirit to get a little nostalgic.

I can’t go “home” for Christmas. My parents sold the family home in Connecticut ages ago, and my urban family is in Washington. So when I saw a drink called “My Old New England Home” on Poste’s menu, I got a little teary. Yes, jaded Jenn got teary and ordered a cocktail based on nostalgia for her long-lost childhood. Or at least, the one I stole from watching The Ice Storm (joke, Mom and Dad, joke!!).

Apple cider mulled with cinnamon and star anise and kissed with rum, this is a pretty delectable warm drink. It’s usually served with a cranberry foam – as I had it the day after the Snowpocalypse they were short, but that hardly mattered. There’s something so comforting about a warm cocktail, your hands cupping the glass, the scent of spice tickling your nose. The best part about winter is mulled cider, anyway! So cosy up in one of the striped banquettes, stare out into the snowy patio, and indulge in luscious nostalgia.

(Ah… just not tonight. Poste’s closed Christmas Day. Just like my old New England home. Sniff, sniff. So quit feeling sorry for yourself and mull your own damn cider!)

The Daily Feed
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The History of Christmas at the White House 1789-2009

image from the 44 Diaries

I’m no War on Christmas soldier – on either side – but I think a heartfelt wish for joy and peace with one’s fellow (hu)man is a kind and loving sentiment. Similarly, whether you’re christian or not, past xmas observances at the White House are pretty and interesting. The 44 Diaries has a post up titled “The History of Christmas at the White House 1789-2009.” Skip the cheesy youtube video and click the links to the various periods of time. Neat stuff!

When the second President of the United States, John Adams, moved into what would come to be known as the White House, the residence was cold, damp, and drafty. Sitting at the edge of a dreary swamp, the First Family had to keep 13 fireplaces lit in an effort to stay comfortable. It is in this setting that the cantankerous president held the first ever White House Christmas party in honor of his granddaughter, Susanna. It could be said that the invitations sent for this party were the very first White House Christmas cards, though in those early days, the building was referred to as the President’s Palace, Presidential Mansion, or President’s House.

Hope you’re having a merry christmas or a pleasant day off of work. Or both!

The Features
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Happy Holidays, DC!

HolidayCard-2009b

No matter what you’re celebrating this weekend, whether it’s Christmas or a long weekend, we hope it’s happy and safe. Thanks for reading, thanks for commenting, and thanks for helping make DC a little more awesome every day.

See you on Monday!

The Daily Feed
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George Michael Remembrances

Photo courtesy of
‘George Michael’
courtesy of ‘The SABR Office’

You can’t swing a cat on the DC-focused internet today without hitting mention of George Michael’s passing. It’s unsurprising – you don’t host a recurring news feature for just shy of thirty years without making an impression. I’m sure WaPo will have a good obit up eventually, but for the moment I think the most interesting insight into his life is the community-posted remembrances on the WaPo website. Some more interesting insight into Michael can be had here – a story about his dj career at WABC in the late 70s, complete with some recordings of the man in action.

Rest in Peace, George.

The Daily Feed
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Sherlock Holmes Loves DC

I was reading an article in Slate today about how Sherlock Holmes has been portrayed in film throughout the 20th century, and ran across this gem. It’s from Sherlock Holmes in Washington, a ridiculous adventure in which Holmes tracks down a captured British agent bringing vital microfilm to US intelligence. This clip is of Holmes riding around the Mall. Look Holmes, it’s the Washington Monument (which you can see from pretty much angle he would have been at in the clip, so not sure why it was exclaimed right at that moment, but whatever).

The Daily Feed
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Expecting Mayhem at Whole Foods?

Photo courtesy of
‘Stuck’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’

I just came from the Whole Foods in Clarendon, where they had two police cars and two cops in the parking lot, in addition their usual fleet of staff, to direct traffic.

While a steady stream of cars was passing through, all is calm (and very bright), and one of the cops seemed more interested in watching people walk in and out of the store than in watching the traffic.

All this makes me wonder.

Does it say something about the demand for all-natural, organic food? Or about the kind of behavior we might reasonably expect on Christmas Eve from the people who like to buy it?

Happy holidays, everyone!

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends, December 25-26

Photo courtesy of
‘The Warm Glow of Electric Sex’
courtesy of ‘Rukasu1’

Happy Holidays, everyone. Here’s how we’re spending the holiday weekend. Let us know what you’re up to in the comments.

Tiff: Like many of you, I’ll be spending a good chunk of the weekend out of town visiting family, but there are two things I’m looking forward to doing here in DC with the rest of my off-time. I’ll be catching Matt Kazam at the DC Improv on Sunday, and since my office is closed Monday, I might go check out ICE with the ticket I got as a gift from the company.

Rachel: This is my first holiday season not being spent in Chicago. Since I can’t be around my family, I’m spending my time in Alexandria with a close one’s family and his two pets. I — like many of the fellow Jews I know — enjoy seeing movies on Christmas Day. This year, I’m hoping to go see that new Sherlock Holmes flick because what could be better than Jude Law … right? I’m also planning on recording a few new songs I’ve written to close out the new year and just sitting by the fire.   Continue reading →