Monthly Archives: January 2010

News, The Daily Feed, The Mall
By

The “Nuns Impact On History” Comes To The Smithsonian

Photo courtesy of
‘These look like nice nuns’
courtesy of ‘Valerie Everett’

Ever wonder what nun’s do in their spare time? Wonder no more! The International Gallery at the Smithsonian opened a new exhibit on Friday featuring the stories of 12 Catholic sisters who arrived in New Orleans in 1727.

The exhibit demonstrates the overall impact of Catholic nuns had in the shaping of our nation’s culture and the evolution of social service over the past 300 years.

A wide-range of displays are featured, including: a letter from President Thomas Jefferson assuring the women that their work could continue following the Louisiana Purchase, the role of the sisters in treating soldiers on the front lines in the Civil War, the founding of the Mayo Clinic and other historically documented events.

“Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America,” is on a three-year tour and will be open to the public until April 25.

The Daily Feed
By

Nickles’ War on the Judiciary

Photo courtesy of
‘DC Court of Appeals and Lincoln’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

The City Paper has a fascinating read today on what it considers DC Attorney General Peter Nickles’ War on the Judiciary. Right now, AG Nickles is in major conflicts with a number of different judges for attempting to short circuit judicial oversight of a number of city agencies. In a town that has been so fiercely against the unitary executive, it seems odd to see the Mayor try to emulate the former President in his quest to free the executive branch from both legislative and judicial oversight.

Reading some of the history of the six consent decrees that currently affect the District, and their origins, certainly gives one perspective on why Nickles might want to be free of oversight. It’s hard to see, though, why the District shouldn’t abide by prior decisions of the Court.

Featured Photo, WMATA
By

Featured Photo


‘B&W Train Tunnel’
courtesy of ‘MikaAltskan’

What a year it has been for Metro, and the first month isn’t over yet. Service on the rails has been particularly messy this January, and just when it looked like Metro had decided to take the fight to the people, its general manager calls it quits. Despite last year’s tragedies and this year’s very rocky start, there’s still a magic about the system. Architect Harry Weese‘s vision for the Metrorail stations is iconic, modern, and yet still brutalist in nature.

For me, the best part of the system is the interface between the public parts of the station — the platforms, mezzanines, and escalators — and the inaccessible areas, especially the tunnels and the rail bed. Teenage photographer MikaAltskan managed to snap this shot looking into the tunnel from one of the stations. It shows off the curves of the concrete and rails, and the lights punctuating the distance before veering into an unknown, yet familiar place.

The next time you are waiting for the train that seems to never want to arrive, take a look around you and notice the cathedral-like look of the station where you happen to be waiting.

Fun & Games, Special Events, The Daily Feed
By

Operation: SNOW PEA

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_4606’
courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

So you’ve watched 24 and are hankering for some personal spy action, right? Or perhaps you’re in the mood for something a little different during the cold, dreary days of winter. Well, for a limited time, you can be a double agent right here in the “City of Spies.”

The International Spy Museum is running Operation: Snow Pea through the end of February, giving you and your friends the chance to experience the museum and a special operation for the price of one admission. Simply provide the secret password (SNOW PEA) to one of the museum’s operatives or on the online order form and receive admission to the museum PLUS one of the following for only $20.10:

  • Be an intelligence officer on an international mission in Operation Spy.
  • Thwart a cyberterrorist attack on the nation’s capital! Play Polar Bear Spy in the City.
  • Enjoy creative cocktails and clandestine conversation at Spy at Night.

Offer isn’t valid between 2/12 – 2/15 and expires February 28. Get your spy on before the tourists come back…

Talkin' Transit, The District, The Features, WMATA
By

Quo Vadimus, Metro?

Photo courtesy of
‘bumpy concourse’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Thursday afternoon’s resignation of Metro’s John Catoe came as a shock. Having been in a room with Catoe not 24 hours before, I was especially surprised. Catoe did not look like a man defeated by the challenge. Instead, I felt he had likely thought of a plan of action, and stood ready to implement it.

Instead, we are here, rudderless, facing a transit system in its biggest crisis moment. Metro has four very large looming problems that need to be solved in the next calendar year:

  • Finish the Realtime Train Detection System

  • Receive the NTSB Recommendations and fix what hasn’t yet been fixed

  • Deal with a $40M shortfall this FY, and a $160M deficit for 2010-2011

  • Figure out how to fund 300+ new 1000-series cars

And that’s just the subway side of things. Add to that the (largely in good shape, but congested) bus system, and you have a job that should be roughly on par with the Augean Stables. There’s a lot to get done, resources are at a premium, and they’re likely not to expand. So, where do we go from here? Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
By

Sports Fix: The Dark Times

Photo courtesy of
‘Ovechkin Tosses First Star Puck to Crowd’
courtesy of ‘clydeorama’

With the Skins done for the year, and the Nats and United not due to report for weeks yet, and the horrific season for the Wizards, our only highlight this year is the Caps. In fact, with things as dismal as they are, I’d venture to say unless the Caps can press hard for Lord Stanley’s Cup, this would be as dire a year in Washington Sports as we’ve seen in some time.

Capitals
Record: 30-12-6
Last Two Weeks: 6-1
Place: 1st in the Eastern Conference

The Capitals averaged more than 5 goals a game for the last two weeks. Five! Hell, that’s practically more runs than the Nationals were scoring for long periods of last season. Part of that is Ovie/Semin/Backstrom, but the trade for Jason Chimera has paid off, as he is gelling well into the third line, picking up 5 points in the last two weeks. His pickup has made some of the difference for the Caps in both a physical, and an offensive sense.

The Caps have also recalled defenseman John Carlson to the bench, fresh off leading the US National Junior Team to the World Junior Championship gold-medal game, where he picked up a pair of goals, including the game winner.

I’m looking forward, though, to the return of Semyon Varlamov to the goal, as Jose Theodore is a rough stand-in for the far more agile young Russian. Varlamov aggravated a groin injury in a rehab game at Hershey, but he should return to the squad this week or next. The Caps face the Red Wings on Tuesday, look for Ben Rome’s very first behind the scenes game report on Wednesday.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

Twentieth Anniversary of “Goddamn Bitch Set Me Up!”

Photo courtesy of
‘DC Chamber of Commerce Gala oct 17 2009’
courtesy of ‘ShashiBellamkonda’
Twenty years ago tonight, Marion Barry was caught smoking crack with a prostitute in the Vista Hotel. Here’s what the Post said the next morning:

D.C. Mayor Marion Barry was arrested on charges of possession of cocaine last night at the downtown Vista International Hotel after a fast-moving undercover investigation by the FBI and D.C. police that began several weeks ago, according to law enforcement officials and sources familiar with the arrest.

The Daily Feed
By

Twitter Contest: Nissan Leaf Tour

nissanleaftour_la1

The Nissan Leaf Tour is coming to DC next week so Nissan can show off their new, all-electric, zero-emission* car to one of the most traffic-choked regions in the country during the DC Auto Show. To celebrate, they’ve given us an eco-auto prize pack to give away via Twitter. You can win:

1 – Nissan Leaf tour t-shirt
1 – $150 TerraPass.com gift certificate
1 – Eco Touch car cleaning kit ($49.99 value)

Here’s how to enter:

You have to follow We Love DC on Twitter (so we can DM you for details on shipping your prize).  Then tweet something that mentions @welovedc, @nissanevs, and the #leaftour hashtag.

The winner will be chosen on January 25th.

*Zero-emission, unless the power plant the electricity comes from is coal-based, which most of them around here are.

The Features
By

A Week of DC Helping Haiti

Photo courtesy of
’20_16A’ Donation Drive at the Haitian Embassy
courtesy of ‘m hoek’

Since posting about local Haiti relief efforts, I’ve gotten a bunch more info via email and blog comment that I wanted to share with you. Please note that I’m erring on the side of getting the information out there; I haven’t vetted any of the organizations putting these things together or receiving the donations, so please check them out and use your best judgment before donating. So pick the event that works for you and plan to spend time with your friends and neighbors around the cause of helping our fellow people.

Tonight, Monday the 18th:

Nanny O’Brien’s Irish Pub 8:00 PM- Irish music, fundraiser, raffle to benefit earthquake victims. Donations collected and a portion of the day’s proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross.

PUBLIC 5:00-8:00PM- Happy Hour fundraiser to benefit the Red Cross Haiti Earthquake Victims fund. Suggested donation is $40, and people making donations get $3 Miller Light specials.

Tuesday the 19th:

Recess Lounge – Will donate a portion of each drink purchased Tuesday evening, and will be soliciting free will donations (suggested amount: $20) to be sent to Yele Haiti and Partners in Health.

Wednesday the 20th:

Madam’s Organ 6:00-9:00PM – Party for Haiti: $1 from every drink and 10% of food sales donated to the Red Cross. At 8:30PM, organizers will ask attendees to pull out their cell phones and text donations, in unison, to the charities of their choice.

Thursday the 21st:

Bread & Brew – DC Vegan Drinks will be taking donations at their event, as well as holding vegan bake sales through the weekend to raise money for Mercy Corps and Food for Life Global.

Friday the 22nd:

Local 16 6:00-10:30PM – Fundraiser event to benefit Oxfam’s Haiti relief efforts. Donate $25, at the door or in advance, and the party will feature drink specials, “free beer until the keg runs out,” and a buffet of Local 16’s appetizers.

BrightestYoungThings also has a list of Haiti fundraising events they’ve compiled that you should check out.

News, The Daily Feed, WMATA
By

Metro To Issue Rider Refunds To Those Experiencing Lengthy Delays

Photo courtesy of
‘good morning.’
courtesy of ‘volcanojw’

Frequent Metro riders have reason to jump for joy today. Metro Deputy General Manager for Finance and Administration Carol Kissal told the Washington Examiner that “it is time for the agency to give something back.”

(This of course being the time where the happy dance starts…)

With price hikes in the works for Metro this upcoming fiscal year (Kissal says any permanent fare increase will take place on or around July 1), it only seems fair that talks about refunding loyal riders take place.

There is no official course of action at the moment, but  in the mean time, refunds for those experiencing long wait times on Metrorail and Metrobus can browse the other options available on the Metro website.

The Daily Feed
By

George Michael Memorial Set for Thursday

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

DC will get to say goodbye to one of its legends on Thursday at the National Cathedral. There’s no question that George was a pioneering sports anchor, his nationally syndicated Sports Machine show on Sunday night was a window on sports in the days before Cable (yes, youngins, there were days before Cable…) brought ESPN to the fore. Michael’s nearly 30 years of work in DC set the bar for all to follow. His memorial will begin at 11am, and will feature former Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs.

Weekend Flashback
By

Weekend Flashback: 1/15 – 1//17/2010

Photo courtesy of
‘Hudson #7’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Despite yesterday’s rain and overall dreariness, it’s still part of a holiday weekend for many. Area photographers were out and about as usual and captured some great scenes for us to enjoy. So whether you’re at work or kickin’ back at home today, take a moment to pause and regard some snapshots of the area, through the eyes of our local talent.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
By

Looking for a New Career?

Photo courtesy of
‘Working Late’
courtesy of ‘Rukasu1’

It’s a federal holiday today, but if you’re in the private sector like me, you’re probably spending the day at work. While everyone else is out enjoying a day off, maybe it’s time for us to consider a new career field? Luckily, US News & World Report just released the top fifty careers for 2010. I guess I’ll stay where I am though, since my career is on the list.

On the other end of the spectrum, here are the hardest-hit jobs of 2009. Surprisingly, these are jobs like architects and pilots and construction workers, rather than what I was expexcting (um, journalists). There are also some conflicts between these lists (“Computer Software Engineer” is listed as one of the fastest-growing jobs in first piece, but one that is experiencing offshoring in the second piece).

Maybe Teatro Goldoni should add architects and pilots to their journalist all-you-can-drink special.

The Daily Feed
By

Arenas Pleads Guilty

Photo courtesy of
‘Foul Shooters’
courtesy of ‘Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com’

Justice is swift and blind, it seems. Gilbert Arenas plead guilty to a felony charge of gun possession this afternoon in Court, and faces up to five years in prison and the invalidation of his contract with the Wizards and the NBA. In reality, it’s more likely that Arenas would receive no more than 6 months in jail, a hefty fine, and probation.

I guess that joke wasn’t very funny after all. Then again, neither are the Wizards.

Night Life, The Features, We Love Drinks
By

Friday Happy Hour: The Gin Gin Mule

Photo courtesy of
‘Gibson’
courtesy of ‘maxedaperture’

Welcome to the Friday Happy Hour, your single drink primer for the weekend.

This week, you get a longer entry for the long weekend.  You also get a summer drink to remind you that, despite what 2010 has indicated thus far, there is warmth in the world and summer is only a few months away.  Plus, it’s supposed to be 55 degrees today.  Relative to the past few weeks, that’s balmy.  This weekend, have yourself a gin gin mule.

Continue reading →

The Features
By

DC Helps Haiti: Earthquake Relief Events

Photo courtesy of
‘Haiti Earthquake’
courtesy of ‘United Nations Development Programme’

Update 1/18: Information about Haiti earthquake relief fundraising has continued to pour in, so we have a new list of events you can attend this week.

By now we’ve all heard the harrowing reports coming from Haiti. And if you’re reading this, it’s highly likely that you’re orders of magnitude better off than the average Haitian even before the earthquake. Maybe you’ve got to wait for your next paycheck, maybe you’re out of work and can only spare a couple of bucks, but donate what you can, even if for no other reason than that you’re grateful live in a country with building codes and soup kitchens where you’ve never had to literally eat mud to fill your empty stomach.

But in addition to donating cash directly, there are a number of ways to help direct money (because that’s what they need now, money rather than a bunch of random goods) to Haiti earthquake relief. (A lot of this is cobbled together from press releases because we wanted to pull this together quickly, thanks for your forbearance.)  Got anything I missed? Leave it in the comments.

Wale will be playing a benefit concert at the 9:30 Club on Monday night. All ticket sales will be donated to the Partners in Health Organization and Yéle Haiti. The artists are donating their performances, the 9:30 Club has donated the use of the venue, club employees are donating their wages and the advance ticket sales service charge also will be donated.

We got a Twitter report that The Passenger is doing a Haiti relief fundraiser today, 5-8pm, but I don’t have any details. (Not that I need much of an excuse to visit The Passenger.)

This weekend, Tryst, the DINER and Open City will be donating 100% of the sales of their in-house drink specials to the UNICEF fund for Haitian earthquake survivors. Drink specials include Sierra Nevada Pale Ale at the DINER, the Creamsicle Cooler Open City and any coffee beverage with a shot of Bailey’s at Tryst.

Tonight, the Cheeky Monkey Sideshow will be having a fundraiser at the Palace of Wonders. $10 door, a portion of which will be donated, as well as all money raised during the event itself.

The Friday night Liberation Dance Party at DC9 will be donating door proceeds to Haiti relief this week.

The Black Cat will be holding a benefit concert on February 6th. Watch for more details.  LiberatedMuse will hold a benefit concert on February 12th.

If you’re looking for volunteer opportunities, the Embassy of Haiti and ServeDC are asking for volunteers to man telephone banks at the Haitian Embassy, 2311 Massachusetts Avenue, NW.  If you are able to offer mental health services and grief counseling, please contact the DC Homeland Security Emergency Management Agency at 202-272-6161.  Additional information on support and volunteerism can obtained by contacting the Haitian Embassy – Greater Washington Haitian Relief Committee is 202-241-3593.

Material donations, clothes, food, toiletry items can be dropped off at the Haitian Embassy, Sunday, 17 January 2010, 11am-4pm, 2311 Massachusetts Avenue, NW.

Additionally, the Sunlight Foundation will be holding “CrisisCamp” this weekend, in which a bunch of developers get together to put together tools for NGOs and relief organizations to use involving geospatial imagery, map data, etc. as well as family locator databases and the like.

The Daily Feed
By

iPhone Metro Times app contest concludes

Photo courtesy of Me

Find a Metro DC

Time to hand out the last three codes for Find a Metro DC [iTunes], kindly donated by John B. Two stories and one more random shot.

First up, a twofer – originally entered for the funniest but also the cutest story shared, courtesy of Jenn (but not our Jenn)

Yesterday, the Metro car was completely quiet, except for a really tiny kid (like 2-3 yrs old) singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” After about 30 seconds, the whole car started laughing. Adorable.

Next up, well, I’d have given most amusing to “lobster pants” but Prokop says he doesn’t have an iPhone, so I’m tossing it to Katie (but not our Katie – what’s with this trend?) for “vaginas” which even involves an iPhone!

Don’t even pretend you’re not going to go back and check that story out.

Last up, our random pick. Asked to pick between 1 and 49, random.org chose 15: Anthony.

Thanks to everyone for playing. Winners should look for an email from me shortly.

If you didn’t win I can personally vouch that the app is worth $1 – I paid for it and it continues to be my go-to app for Metro times and NextBus lookups. Thanks again to JRBApps for the donations!

The Daily Feed
By

Haiti Survival Kit Drive This Sunday

Photo courtesy of
‘Haiti Earthquake’
courtesy of ‘United Nations Development Programme’

Update: This event did receive mention on FOX 5 News (still link-hunting on that) and has a listing on Yelp and on Meetup. Still confirming officially if this is indeed occurring, as it is (obviously) difficult to contact the Embassy at this time.

In the meantime, the Embassy of Haiti and ServeDC are asking for volunteers to man the embassy’s telephone banks. If you’d like to help in that capacity, contact ServeDC at 202.727.7925.

There will be a Survival Kit Drive on Sunday, January 17 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti located at 2311 Massachusetts Avenue, NW. In appreciation of your assistance light refreshments will be available. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact 718-755-0119.  Continue reading →