Yearly Archives: 2009

Special Events, The Mall, We Love Arts
By

We Love Arts: Pride Before Fall

30dutc_large1

“A Bird’s-Eye View of Amsterdam” (circa 1652), by Jan Micker, based on a 1538 work, courtesy Amsterdam Historical Museum

Two current exhibits at the National Gallery of Art are at first glance dissimilar. “Pride of Place: Dutch Cityscapes of the Golden Age,” is a tightly restrained showcase of the grand Dutch Republic’s view of its cities and public spaces, using cartographic metaphor to show a mighty macrocosm at its seventeenth century height. “Looking In: Robert Frank’s The Americans“ takes on our own republic from a microcosmic perspective, capturing in lush yet depressing detail the consumerist chill of 1950’s America.

But seeing both exhibits in the same afternoon gives you the sense of how art can mirror culture – either cleaning up reality, or showing the truth beneath. 

“Pride of Place” could be marched through very quickly, your eye breezily taking in maps and cityscapes in soothing sepia tones. It’s all power and glory and civic cleanliness. But I urge you to resist this temptation to rush, and look closer. Details on these paintings are intensely human, the small smudged faces of the Dutch citizens at work. No attempt is made to sex them up – they are potato-faced plain, staunch and proud in their sensibility and commerce. Their quiet industry is matched with the republic’s burgeoning pride. But every once and a while there’s some guy goofing off in the corner! Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

Recreational Leagues in DC?


Dart Board
Originally uploaded by oparrish

I ate dinner last night with a friend who joined a Darts team he found on Craigslist. My friend’s boyfriend joined a ski club he found on Craigslist. It seems like CL is just hopping with activities for people to join. I was curious, so I checked out the DC-area offerings.

We’re home to TONS of active groups – flag football, women’s soccer, Japanese language speakers, softball, dance, movie clubs – you name it we’ve got it! So if you’re in the mood to pick up a new activity to push through the end of the winter doldrums, click your way through to the “activities” section on Craigslist.

That said, any reader suggestions? What’s your favorite recreational league in the DC area?

Essential DC, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The District, The Features
By

DCist Exposed Opens Friday

Photo courtesy of HeatherMG
DCist Exposed 2009!, courtesy of HeatherMG

It’s that time of year again, photography lovers.  The third annual DCist Exposed Photography Show opens this Friday at the Gallery at Flashpoint.  The juried show “showcases new talent as the artists reveal the city through the eyes of the people who live and work in the DC area.”  If you haven’t been to it in past years, it’s a great chance to view some amazing photographs taken by our superb group of local photographers, many of whom submit their incredible work to our very own WLDC pool.  Continue reading →

News, The Daily Feed, WMATA
By

Orange Line Pandemonium

Photo courtesy of
‘beam me up, Scotty!’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Thanks to every who tweeted us to let us know that the Metro is a bit of a disaster this morning due to emergency track maintenance between Foggy Bottom and Clarendon, which means both the Orange and Blue lines are single tracking trains through these packed stations. Delays are listed as more than 40 minutes after one of the maintenance vehicles in the tunnel derailed. The incident hit this morning about 4:30am, and Metro’s hard at work at fixing it, but this one’s going to leave a mark.

The Daily Feed
By

Win A Virginia Vacay

Photo courtesy of
‘Naked Mountain Vineyard’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

Virginia.org is celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the slogan “Virginia is For Lovers”, and as such is sponsoring 40 trips in 40 weeks, a promotion where you can win any number of trips around Virginia. I kind of love this, actually, as all the trips are in my “backyard” so to speak.

They range from a stay at Charlottesville’s Boars Head Inn (complete with a dinner at the Old Mill Room and Presidential Home passes) to a private birdwatching expedition, to whitewater rafting or skiing, to a Roanoke Valley trip complete with lodging , massages, candle-lit dinner, and what else but the orchestra.

I love travel, I especially love vacations, so I’m already signed up! The sweepstakes ends with a drawing of four Grand Prize winners who can choose from four different luxury vacation packages depending on what floats your boat. And honestly, even if I don’t win (tear!) then at least I’ve now got some FABULOUS trip ideas up my sleeve, my home state of Virginia has got a lot to offer!

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
By

Me. ME! MEEEEE!!!!

Photo courtesy of
‘waiting’
courtesy of ‘volcanojw’

Ah, Metro, how we love thee.

After listening for months now from Catoe and Co go on and on about how dire Metro’s situation is, how much money they’re short, and how “woe is ME(tro)” – despite a record-breaking Inauguration ridership day and many other top-10 rider days last year AND a fare hike last year, to give Metro more of our money to play with – they do this.

Seems our near-broke and needy transit system is going after the stimulus monies now. Anything to fill that $154M gap, eh boys? (Oh, wait – the list of projects total about $230M. Well, when reaching deep into our pockets, why not go all the way?) On the list is nearly everything WMATA cried about last year, including the track maintenance warnings, replacing old buses and platforms, increasing SmarTrip services and so on.

I’ll give Catoe and Co credit; it’s a ballsy move to take your ‘needs’ list and try to siphon stimulus money for it by couching it in the “let’s help the economy now” phraseology so popular on the airwaves today. Hey, everyone else is doing it, so why not WMATA?

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
By

Pin the Name on the Recruit

Photo courtesy of
‘nick was practicing my signature! lol’
courtesy of ‘irina slutsky’

It seems the Nationals are in a bit of trouble with their latest prospects.

Gonzalez’s current agent, Stanley King, said early Wednesday morning he was shocked by the revelations.

“I hope this is a mistake,” King said via telephone. “I was at his house this winter and he answered by his [baseball name]. I will look into this.”

I’m not exactly sure what goes between those brackets that makes any of it look less damning. Looks like that contract’s going to be void, and that the Nats might have to figure out who they really signed…

The Daily Feed
By

Move along, buddy

Photo courtesy of
‘Cuff links for criminals’
courtesy of ‘Soulrider222’
There are some days when it’s hard to be in favor of home rule.

Like when, following a very distinct Supreme Court smackdown, the city drafts rules that fly in the face of very clear text on the opinion. Like when foolish “all hands on deck” days result in the city putting a dozen men out to watch that hotbed of crime, NW 7th and F St. Like when random automobile stops infringe on people’s right to travel through the city.

Or when council members propose anti-loitering rules allowing for signifigant fines when two or more people are gathered.

Don’t worry, though! It’s only for areas that are known for illegal activity. And there’ll be authority given to the mayor to create rules that protect “assembly protected by the Constitution.” How nice that they’ll toss that in.

If you like spending time in the Supreme Court chambers so badly they offer tours.

UPDATE: Fixed the link. Thanks, Jonathan!

Talkin' Transit, The Features
By

Talkin’ Transit: O Bus, Where Art Thou?

Photo courtesy of
‘waiting’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Chock full of WMATA today.

First up, it looks like the Circulator will be taking over one or two Metrobus routes this spring. This would increase the local service to five looping routes from the current three. Which routes aren’t yet determined, but Circulator officials have stated they can offer the same service as Metro for less money. Whether Metro agrees or not remains to be seen.

Additionally, the Fairfax Connector is proposing to operate three Metro lines beginning this summer.

Metro’s desperate to plug a $154M hole in their budget, so it would be in their best interest to look at letting local services handle it. But Metro would lose the line’s fare revenue and subsidies from the jurisdiction that is paying Metro for the service. While the operating costs would go away, they may be reluctant – or stubborn – to let that money go.

The Examiner‘s Kytja Weir does a great job looking deeper into the issue. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Penn Quarter, The Daily Feed
By

Riggle It

Photo courtesy of
‘ROB RIGGLE’
courtesy of ‘Robotclaw666’

The Daily Show really seems to have a knack for turning out the big stars: Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, and Ed Helms (now on The Office as Andy) all took their turns as correspondants before their current gigs.

So who’s excited that Rob Riggle, one of my favorites because he’s so obnoxious and over-the-top, will be at Sixth & I tomorrow night? I am! Amazingly, it’s not sold out yet, and tickets are $20 for the rest of today (they go up to $25 the day of the show).

We Love Arts
By

We Love Arts: The Dog in the Manger

Photo courtesy of shakespearetheatreco

DOGRHRSL_039
courtesy of shakespearetheatreco

I opened The Washington Post today and found Peter Marks’ glowing review of The Dog in the Manger and thought “yep, yep, yes, yes! Exactly right!” Then I thought “shit, what’s left for me to say?”

Who are we kidding? Of course I can still find something to say.

Seriously – while I don’t agree with Marks across the board, I do agree with him on the big points: the show is great and worth your time. The translation is so well done that this 500 year old play has dialog that feels fresh while still being from its own time. David Turner is fan-freaking-tastic and riotously funny. The show’s a winner and you should go see it.

So what else? I’m not as thrilled with Michael Hayden’s Teodoro as he is, but he fills the role well enough. Maybe that’s just my feelings about the character, a man who is almost exclusively reactive through the whole piece. It’s probably the one problem the excellent translation simply couldn’t address and the one thing that’s going to be a little odd for modern audiences. There’s not a hint that Teodoro has ever thought of Diana romantically before he catches her eye and she starts to drop anvil-like hints on his head, yet it completely derails his existing relationship. It’s not an insurmountable problem but it doesn’t give Hayden a lot of room to excel. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

James Beard Award: Best Chef Nominees

Photo courtesy of
‘The Pancake Maker’
courtesy of ‘maxedaperture’

WLDC would like to congratulate all the DC metro area chefs who were nominated in the Best Chef: MidAtlantic category for the prestigious James Beard Awards:

  • Cathal Armstrong, Restaurant Eve
  • Anthony Chittum, Vermilion
  • Haidar Karoum, Proof
  • Peter Pastan, Obelisk
  • Tom Power, Corduroy
  • Vikram Sunderam, Rasika

José Andrés of Minibar was nominated for the Outstanding Chef award, taking company in greats like Tom Colicchio, Dan Barber, Stephan Pyles and Barbara Lynch.

The James Beard Award is touted as “the country’s most coveted honor for chefs”.

The Daily Feed, WMATA
By

Random Act of Kindness

Photo courtesy of
‘at least we’re not outside anymore!’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

I was just at metro center when a train went out of service. All the passengers unloaded and the operator blinked the lights and the train went black. A man standing near me on the platform randomly reached out to hold the door open and then I saw it, a little movement from the end of the car, a cane tip.

The man on the platform had spotted an elderly passenger who couldn’t move very fast and wasn’t off the train yet. The man on the platform yelled for the operator to hold but the operator didn’t hear and shut the door, leaving the man on the platform to pry the doors to save the old man on board from being whisked away on an out of service train. It took him two battles with the door (as well as the help of myself and two other men) to help hold the doors until the old man managed to shuffle off the car to safety. The old man exited the train and moved away, and the man on the platform went back to his blackberry and ipod.

Random acts of kindness spotted. Reason eight hundred sixty seven why I love DC.

The Daily Feed
By

See ya, quitters

Photo courtesy of
‘Action!’
courtesy of ‘curran.kelleher’

Well, it looks like all but a done deal – DC United is going to head over into Maryland’s PG County because they want someone to build them a new stadium. I only have two suggestions: forget this horse-hockey about keeping the name – you’re not welcome to it. You want to be DC United, be in DC. The Nationals aren’t called the grod-damned Montreal Expos anymore because they’re not in Montreal. You won’t be in DC either, so be honest about it.

Second, enjoy your new digs and the quality law enforcement. I’d suggest you don’t host any Bring Your Dog To Work days, and if any of your fans get picked up and throw in jail for drunk and disorderly I’d suggest making sure they’ve paid up their season tickets in advance; might be hard to collect from them later.

Downtown, Food and Drink, We Love Food
By

We Love Food: Equinox

Photo courtesy of
‘proof.glass.2’
courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

Situated on Farragut Square in the Downtown corridor, Equinox is unassuming on the outside. With a glassed-in atrium, it looks like it was once a lunch eatery or an after-work bar spot that has been transformed, to the best of an interior decorator’s ability, to an upscale dining room. After having a wonderful time at Equinox in the fall, partaking in the fall happy hour, I was dying to try Equinox for a full meal, and Valentine’s Day was the perfect excuse.

We were sat, and the meal started out with bread. I love bread – it has the potential to set the tone for the entire meal. Bread can be a warm welcome, a fabulous place for a meal to start, and unfortunately Equinox’s bread fell flat. Well, not the bread so much as the hummus that came with it. I’m a big fan of interesting spreads (hello, honey butter, yogurt dill cheese or herb butter) and so I was excited to try the hummus that came with a pastry puff bread and some sort of fruit and herb bread slices. It was bland. It was mostly tasteless, with sort of a weird aftertaste. I tried it with or without the bread, and have to say, that hummus was a mistake for the chef to send out. I could have gotten better hummus at Trader Joe’s. But luckily, the hummus was the worst part of the entire meal, and everything just got better from there. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
By

Cooking Classes for The Rest of Us

Photo courtesy of
‘Day 14: Rachel Cooking’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

My roommate and I regularly burn things, under-cook things, and generally make a mess in the kitchen. It’s sort of a trial by error approach to cooking, but hey – that’s how you learn right? Well, until now. Cookology, a recreational cooking school, opened out in Dulles Town Center on Valentine’s Day.

It’s the perfect place for those of us who look at a huge slab of roast and think: “um, what knife do I use” and “what do I do with this weird bone” and “is there a sauce that would go with this that I just don’t know about” and “do I put this in a pan or in the oven or can I just stick this mess in the toaster oven and be done with it?” – all those questions make me wish I could take my middle school home ec class all over again. Cookology is here to answer all the questions I wished I had asked back then!

The site has yet to post classes and prices (please be affordable, please please please!) but they’ve got a list of classes that they’re starting with, including my favorite: “Ready to Bake, take home an entire week’s worth of meals” as well as assorted others, “Make. Eat. (Guys night!)” and nutritional cooking. Cookology also offers wine tasting nights, product demonstrations (got a new gadget you wish you could test before you commit?) and every Friday is Date Night where you can cook with your significant other – perfect for Matt and I, we’re always trying to figure out new fun dates.

I love it, I’m excited! Where do I sign up!?

The Daily Feed, The Great Outdoors
By

Urban Gardening Forum on Saturday

It may be the middle of winter, with freezing temps back and more talk of wintry mix coming from the weathermen, but it’s not too soon to start thinking about planting your garden. RootingDC is holding their second annual Urban Gardening Forum this Saturday at the Carnegie Library.

The forum is designed to bring DC Gardeners together to  share resources and foster partnerships between those who are working towards common goals of a greener, healthier DC. Are you a community gardener in Washington, DC? A teacher with a schoolyard garden? A member of a garden club or block club interested in beautifying your neighborhood? Involved with a non-profit leading a gardening program? Or, are you interested to get involved with such community projects? Sounds like this is the event for you.

Alexandria, Fun & Games, History, Special Events, Weekend Flashback
By

Photo Flashback: George Washington’s Birthday Parade

Happy Birthday, GW

Yesterday, we headed out to the “largest parade celebrating George Washington’s Birthday in the USA!” – Alexandria’s George Washington Birthday Parade. How can you beat that as the perfect homage to President’s Day? Here it is in a photo review, from clowns to horseback riders, the parade had it all. Continue reading →