Yearly Archives: 2009

Essential DC, The Daily Feed
By

Blossom Time UPDATED!

DSC_0192

So a couple weeks ago, the National Park Service announced when the peak blooming period would be for the cherry blossoms this year.

Apparently, they were wrong.

This morning, Rob DeFeo, the Chief Horticulturist of the NPS, announced a ‘revised’ bloom period: April 1-4 . (Yep, shorter than previously predicted.)

We can’t blame DeFeo for revising his forecast; for years, he gave the prediction only a few days from the annual festival. These days, he’s been pressed to give it closer to three weeks out. And it’s been four years since Eleanor Moffatt passed away; her advice was always welcome around the NPS when it came to predicting the beautiful blossoms’ bloom time. DeFeo’s only been wrong a few times in his 19 year career as the Chief Horticulturist.

So DC, get ready. The tourists, they are a-comin’…

The Daily Feed
By

Spring’s Here.


"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."
Originally uploaded by kimberlyfaye

It’s official, the Sun has crossed over the Equator. Today at 7:44am, Spring arrived, even if you couldn’t tell from the weather. Though we reached daytime/nighttime equity on the 17th, today’s the Equinox. We’ll be adding 3 minutes of daylight per day for the next few weeks, which is pretty freaking awesome for those of us who live and die with the sun. Bring on the sunshine!

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
By

American Leading at Halftime

Photo courtesy of
‘For Two’
courtesy of ‘brmurray’

The hopes were not high for American, seeded at #14, and up against NCAA
Powerhouse #3 Villanova, but here they are, exceeding expectations massively. Halfway through their first round game, they’re up on ‘Nova 41-31. I’m going to repeat that, because it’s not a typo: American is beating Villanova by ten at the half. Tell your friends. Cinderella’s bucking for a night on the town.

Update: Ten minutes remain and they’re still up by 8. Hang tight, Eagles!

Update 2: Three minutes to go, and now AU is down by 5. Time to get back in the game, Eagles! Gotta make it count!

Update 3: And it’s over. AU can’t hold on to a halftime lead, and goes down in the first round.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
By

Terps Win Round 1!

Photo courtesy of
‘storm’
courtesy of ‘mhaw’

The Terps are putting on a pretty decent show against Cal here in the first round of the Big Dance here. They’re up 74-59 with just over 4 minutes to go, and they’ve been nothing short of excellent in their first showing. Here’s to the 10-7 upset!!

Update: There it is, the Terps go on! 84-71 is the final. Congrats!

DC Victory Gardens, The Daily Feed, We Green DC
By

Homegrown Veggies at the White House

Photo courtesy of
‘what a find!’
courtesy of ‘NatalieHG’

It looks like we’re not the only ones with DC Victory Gardens this year- the First Family will be starting a vegetable garden on the White House grounds. I don’t see a lot of confirmation that this will be the big ol’ organic garden that Alice Waters of Chez Panisse has been pushing for, but the example of growing your own fresh vegetables is nonetheless welcome from such a high-profile family.  And you know, if they need any gardening tips, the Obamas are welcome to hit us up in the comments…  I wonder if they’ll be doing any preserving of their home-grown produce in the White House kitchen?

UPDATE, 3/20: The New York Times has some more details about the garden. Fifty-five varieties of vegetables, grown in raised beds, total cost: $200. Awesome.

(Thanks to Twitter user @lorig for the tip! Do you follow us on Twitter yet?)

Essential DC, The Daily Feed
By

Schocked by TMZ Paparazzi

Photo courtesy of
‘United States Capitol’
A great place for stalking your congressman, approximate location of Aaron Schock-spot
courtesy of ‘cliff1066’

The WaPo this morning had an absolutely amazing marvel of a piece about TMZ’s latest move in gotcha paparazzi journalism. Turns out they’ve moved to the Hill, trying to get some candid moments with the most staffed people on the East Coast — our Congressmen and women. 

Their first victim was obvious, someone for whom I’ve long held a fascination, 27-year-old Illinois congressman Aaron Schock. Not one week ago, my roommate and I ran by Schock in the exact same location, also entirely unstaffed (do they just let him wander?) south of the capitol building. It made my week, to say the least. Continue reading →

Downtown, Special Events, Sports Fix
By

Hoop Dreams: DC Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘20080220_2740’
courtesy of ‘vcheeseman’

I love this time of year — there’s a buzz, an excitement, a renewed fervor, a sense of possibility and hope for overcoming impossible odds. That’s right folks, the 2009 NCAA basketball tournaments are back! Granted, I liked it a lot more when I had 2 weeks’ Spring Break that fell exactly during the first two rounds – glorious days of non-stop basketball – but, we deal. And if need-be, we use sick days.

Most of the games (men’s and women’s) are on CBS (listings here including who is announcing so you can avoid Clark Kellogg) or the ESPN channels (listings here). The games are viewable through ESPN360.com and CBSsportsline.com I believe.

District Pride! Who do we have? Let’s see about the contenders…

Ladies First. Round 1 at College Park, MD – the Comcast Center (whatwhat!) Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

Dog Park Still Just Dirt

It has been well over a month since the above photo was taken of the dog park at 17th & S.  Since then, a small tractor was moved inside the fence giving people hope that construction would finally begin, but was then removed about a week ago.  Dog park patrons have still been utilizing a small opening in the fence to let their dogs run around, but yesterday a lock was installed to keep people out.  If they’re not going to do any construction, why keep people out?

Mayor Fenty said that the park would be completed by Memorial Day.  I’m hoping he meant 2009.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
By

Hair-Raisingly Expensive

Photo courtesy of
‘wedding day activities’
courtesy of ‘CosmoPolitician’

I have paid a lot of money for a haircut in my time. In fact, once I grow out this mess on my head and need it to be styled into a wearable, professional stylish cut, I might even take Belle’s advice and hit up Molecule St. Germain in Penn Quarter, which would mean paying a hefty sum of money. But, like I always say, your hair is the one thing you wear every day, it’s the one quality wardrobe peice worth paying extra for.

AND THEN I READ THIS, an article from the Express that talks about the incoming “stylist to the celebrities” Ted Gibson, who is opening a salon in Chevy Chase. This was all good news to me, seeing as we can always use more style in DC, until I got to this point. “Well, my haircuts are $950. One of the reasons I charge that much is that, usually, when you go a high-profile hairdresser, you’re passed around through many different people. In my salon, you’re with me for the entire hour and a half.” I’m sorry, WHAT?! NINE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS. Let’s say that again. NINE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS. Yo, that’s like, more than what I pay in rent, plus utilities (yes I have a good deal, not the point) and I could probably, say, finance a car for that money.

What is happening here, people?! We are in the middle of a recession! Who in their RIGHT MIND is going to pay $950 for a hair cut? I’m dying to know who his customers are going to be, and if their hair cut will be able to make them dinner, pay their rent and buy them  new clothes. Otherwise, two words: rip off.

Thrifty District
By

Thrifty District: Staying Cute in a Recession

Photo courtesy of
‘Necklaces’
courtesy of ‘lorigoldberg’

This Thrifty District is going to be kind of lady-focused. I apologize, male WLDC readers (and lady readers who are not so into accessorizing and hairstyles), but we’ll have some college basketball coverage this afternoon to balance it out, okay?

So, the economy is in the crapper. People are getting laid off all around you. Maybe you’ve been laid off yourself. You need to cut costs, but you also don’t want to look like a scrub while furiously networking and trying to secure job interviews. The best way to improve what’s already in your closet (especially if you’ve taken Jenn’s advice on cheap-but-chic clothing) is with a good haircut and accessories, but that can be expensive too, especially if you’re unemployed. Fortunately, there are ways around that. Continue reading →

Technology, The Daily Feed
By

Ignite Comes to DC on 14 May 09

ignite-dc-logo.jpg

Ignite DC will be hosting their first meeting on 14 May 09 at the new Artomatic Location at 55 M St SE right across from the Navy Yard Metro. So, get your five minutes and twenty slides in order, and work on what you want to tell DC. Tell us about your art project. Or maybe about your idea for a great new website. How about a new approach to lobbying the government. Great way to meet all kinds of cool folks. We’ll see you there!

55 M St SE
Washington DC 20003

We Love Arts
By

We Love Arts: Ion

Photo courtesy of shakespearetheatreco

courtesy of shakespearetheatreco

Yes, there are puppets. More on that later.

I chose the above picture out of STC’s flickr stream to give you some idea about some of the unusual choices that director Ethan McSweeny takes in adapting this Euripides play. The caption for the above photo is Patricia Santomasso in rehearsal for the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of “Ion” And she’s not rehearsing a post-death pose – that’s from a period when her character, a member of the chorus, is sunning herself on a rock. At the temple of Delphi. Since she and the other handmaidens are dressed and behave like crass American tourists on vacation.

As Dave Barry would say, I Am Not Making This Up. Continue reading →

Essential DC, Talkin' Transit, The Features, WMATA
By

Talkin’ Transit: Stop-Gaps and Cuts

Photo courtesy of
‘CSC_1718’, courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

By now, everyone has heard (or is aware) that WMATA has a $29M gap in their budget to fill. And soon. Early suggestions by some parties (coughGrahamcough) was to use part of the $200M bailout money to fill the gap. Which is a stupid idea. And most board members agreed; that idea got tossed last week. (I’m glad there’s some actual common sense being demonstrated now over in Metro’s HQ; use the stimulus money for the listed projects originally put forth. It’s not a magic piggy-bank to use for stop-gaps.)

So what does WMATA do? Michael Perkins over at GGW gave a great rundown of the four options that Metro really has at this point. Probably one of the most controversial to many is the option of cutting services. Yet Metro seems to be holding this one option at arm’s length. It’s very much a hot-button topic for commuters, because no matter what Metro decides to cut (if at all this year), some people will be unhappy.

So let’s pretend you’re Catoe & Co: What services, routes or other Metro minutia would you cut in order to help bridge that gap? We’ll assume that the most obvious and best option – jurisdictional subsidy increases – isn’t viable and that Metro’s only option now is to cut down services and / or increase fares. What do you do? What’s most fair to you? Continue reading →

Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
By

Six Flags: One Last Time?

Photo courtesy of
‘Twisted Metal’, courtesy of ‘Anthroscribe’

Enjoy Six Flags America in Maryland this summer. It may be the last one they’re open.

Despite concerns the amusement park chain may drop into Chapter 11, the park over in Largo is still planning on opening on April 4. The company’s still struggling with a $300M debt-load from its former owners. However, PR Manager Julia Filz contacted me in order to make it clear to our readers that “the restructuring, while serious business, in no way affects our daily operations. Six Flags America is planning for an exciting season, with more concerts than ever, a new family train ride, a bigger daily show package than ever before, a new Johnny Rockets, a new Cold Stone Creamery, and a new three-point basketball challenge game.”

According to park officials, Six Flags will be hiring hundreds more people than in previous years, which is good news to many teens and college students looking for “fun summer work” in this tough economy.

ABC 7 News has a breakdown of the park’s debt problems, and there’s a piece in the New York Times to help put the whole situation in context. But for those of you who don’t care, better make your plans to enjoy the park this year. It may not be around after August.

Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
By

The best Manchester Cosmetic Dentists in Town

Photo courtesy of
‘Tooth X-Ray’
courtesy of ‘Rex Roof’

I’ve been looking for a good dentist, and I’m getting frustrated, so I’m going to use my status as a blogger and call out – ya’ll, I need a recommendation for a dental supplement so check this Steel Bite Pro reviews.

I was reading some Steel Bite Pro reviews and this supplement can help you end the terrible, never-ending pulsating pain caused by tooth infections and gum disease. It can also stop your teeth from excessively moving or suddenly falling off.

Steel Bite Pro is also for people who wish to gain back their smiles. This supplement helps with developing better oral health, thus decreasing the sight of inflamed and bleeding gums. Experts recommend to combine this supplement with a professional dental whitening system like the one you can find at the link to get the best o it.

Nasty breath can also be prevented with invisalign clear braces, and you can smile with confidence once again. With Steel Bite Pro, you do not have to feel embarrassed about various oral conditions.

Ever since I moved up to DC, I’ve been looking for one until I found the soma beverly plastic surgery. The first one I went to here was shady, I won’t name names, but I got a weird vibe, and the office was more like a hospital waiting area with only sheets between the chairs than a dentist office with actual offices. So I started asking around – turns out none of my friends like their dentist, if they even HAVE a dentist at all!

So… fortunately I was able to find the best cosmetic dentist in town, book an appointment at www.360dentalcare.co.uk.

Fun & Games, People
By

He Loves DC: Crickett The Clown

Photo courtesy of
‘Just hanging out’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

As many of us are aware after the parade yesterday, the circus is in town! I had a chance to catch up with one of the clowns in the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Crickett. Crickett hails from the DC area, and I was able to  talk to him all about what it’s like to be a clown, what he misses about DC, and even about that mysterious bearded lady…

Katie: Tell us how you and DC intersect, how long you lived here, what your early memories are?

Crickett: I moved to the DC metro area when I was in 10th grade from New York and simply fell in love with it since I got here. Over more than a decade, I have lived here off and on while working and studying. Many of my early memories consist of taking the metro into the city and riding the trains with friends and just hanging out and seeing all the free sites.

Any favorite places you miss?

Of course! After I have lived/ played/ entertained (I hesitate, for obvious reasons, to call what I do work) in large arenas, such as Verizon, I enjoy being entertained as opposed to doing it myself. The Palace of Wonders is my favorite place to go in DC. It’s a tiny little club that hosts regular nightly entertainment, both amateur and professional in vaudeville, burlesque, comedy, variety and such. One of my favorite groups, the Lucky Daredevil Thrill Show performs there regularly. It’s a great place to meet up and coming performers, relax, or see weird sideshow ephemera such as Fiji mermaids, swords, and other oddities. Other than that, I love the Smithsonian and the masses of other free museums DC has to offer, especially the Air and Space Museum or the Zoo

Name the best part of DC, in your opinion?

The cherry blossom trees when they’re out. On a sunny spring day, there is no better place to be or better company to have than the cherry blossoms.

How did you wind up a clown?

While I was attending University in Newport News, VA, I happened upon a now-defunct traveling sideshow. It was then I realized I could act outrageous, tour, color my hair, wear makeup, and have fun touring without being a rock star (or a drag queen for that matter). This appealed to me because I can’t keep a beat to save my life!

More on Crickett’s career as a clown, and where you’ll be able to find him while he’s in town after the jump. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

St. Patrick’s Day at the National Zoo


National Zoo St. Patricks Day Great Ape Enrichment
Originally uploaded by Smithsonian’s National Zoo

So, at your job, on St. Patrick’s Day, your coworkers probably wear that one green item from the back of their closet that doesn’t really fit them, or some shamrock-related accessory, and perhaps they get together after work for some green beer. Maybe there are sickly-green pastries in the break room.

At the National Zoo, the great ape keepers paint shamrocks on the walls of the ape feeding area with green rice cereal, feed the apes green food (like broccoli and honeydew- food that is naturally green), and make goodie bags filled with kabobs made with melon and lime. And then they take pictures. They threw a party for the apes. In honor of one of the founding saints of the Celtic Christian Church.

Clearly I’m just jealous no one brought ME a lime kabob today.

The Daily Feed
By

How Do Members of Congress Celebrate St. Paddy’s?

Photo courtesy of
‘4.365’
courtesy of ‘twodolla’

With Jello Shots, apparently. 

My housemate forwarded this image along to me. Those are Green Irish Whiskey Jello Shots– WARNING: Contains Alcohol — in the telltale Greenware of the Longworth House office building cafeteria.  I guess I would say they are more like a Jello Cup, than a shot, as they clearly dwarf the festive St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes on an adjacent tray. 

What would I give to have a “spotted” of House members quietly enjoying their whiskey cups?

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
By

British Food For Under $10

Photo courtesy of
‘Commonwealth’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

But really, isn’t $10 all British food is worth? (Ouch, I guess I’m snarky today.) But whatever, point is: CommonWealth, the People’s Gastropub in Columbia Heights  now offers two affordable lunches perfect for the busy weekday. Available Monday through Friday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., The Local and The Ploughman’s Lunch specials feature Executive Chef Jamie Leeds British-inspired and American-bred classics.

Sigh, I love thrifty deals.

The Local includes a half of the daily sandwich, a mug of house-made soup or a house salad and half a pint, tea/coffee or soft drink for $10. The Ploughman’s Lunch is “inspired from the bygone era, when a ploughman packed his lunch with classic readily available items that would keep while he worked in the fields”. CommonWealth’s Ploughman’s Lunch includes surrey ham, wildflower cheddar, pickled cabbage, apple and freshly baked bread for $9. I don’t know when a plowman ever picked a pig out in the field, but I get the drift. 

I’ve never been, personally, to Commonwealth but it’s on my ever-growing list. WLDC Author Jenn quite likes it, so I think you should be all set to spend time out on their patio this spring, enjoying your cheap lunch with a side of chess or checkers.