Monthly Archives: June 2010

History, Interviews, News, People, Scribblings, The Features
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Scribblings: Malcom Nance

Photo courtesy of
‘Bunker Business’
courtesy of ‘isafmedia’

Tomorrow at noon, meet author Malcom Nance as he discusses his latest book An End to Al Qaeda at the International Spy Museum. The author seminar and book signing is free to the public.

A 27-year intelligence and combat veteran of modern counterterrorism warfare, Nance lays out a comprehensive plan that would defeat Al Qaeda in less than twenty-four months without a single violent military action. His proposals include waging a war against the fear Al Qaeda has stoked, drastically reducing heavy military operations that kill civilians in the process, and relying more heavily on counterintelligence to root out terrorist groups.

Continue reading →

Business and Money, Essential DC, History, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed
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DC Crafts: Find Of The Day

Washington DC Thermometer

courtesy of junquetart

The past week’s weather was a clear indicator that summer is in full swing in the DC metro area. Which makes me ponder how miserable living and working in DC must have been without AC. The image that immediately comes to mind is a large ice block in front of a fan. So today’s DC Crafts: Find Of The Day focuses on recording our sky high temperatures, and oddly enough today’s item is from circa 1950, when residential usage of AC was exploding.

Although today’s item, a pot metal Washington DC Thermometer, doesn’t accurately portray the layout of DC, I’m loving that it smushes the Jefferson Memorial, Capital and Washington Monument together to create a DC skyline. Also, always put a thermometer on the Washington Monument. Always. You gotta love this thermometer; it’s functional and design friendly piece that any lover of DC would love to add to their collection.

The Daily Feed
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DEVELOPING: Dunn Loring Metro Station Closed, Person Struck By Train

#WMATA Dunn Loring parking lot flooded with emergency response vehicles but they just removed the yellow tape
Photo, 6/16/2010, courtesy of ‘brownpau’

A story in development, Metro has just passed on word that the Dunn Loring station is currently closed after a person was struck by a train. A post to Twitter from someone at the scene indicates that it was a fatal accident. More information as it is available.

Update, 2:09 – Dr. Gridlock at the Washington Post has spoken with a WMATA representative:

Metro spokeswoman Cathy Asato said the person is male, and the initial police investigation indicates he may have been on the tracks intentionally.

Metro said free shuttle bus service between the Vienna and West Falls Church stations was established at 1:50 p.m.

Update, 2:50 – Confirming reports from Twitter and commenters, WMATA has reported that the individual has passed away.

The Daily Feed
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Hot Ticket: The Golden Filter @ DC9 6/18/10

The Golden Filter @ DC9 6/18/10

DC this one is something to get excited about. The enigmatic duo that is The Golden Filter make their return to DC this Friday at DC9 in conjunction with Liberation Dance Party.

The Golden Filter create female vocal-fronted, dance music in the vein of Goldfrapp and La Roux. Right from the start though they separate themselves from their esteemed peers with the mystery that has surrounded their operation and their ethereal, atmospheric approach the genre. While The Golden Filter will certainly get the bodies moving on Friday, it is equally exciting to finally see what kind of dreamy atmosphere they will create performing tracks from their much-anticipated and spectacular full-length album “Voluspa“. I highly encourage everyone to check out their songs on their Myspace Music page to hear what I’m talking about.

I can not wait to see and hear this exotic, majestic dance music being recreated on stage. The Golden Filter are going to set it off on Friday night for what I am sure will be one of the best Liberation Dance Parties of the year!

The Golden Filter @ Liberation Dance Party
6/18/10
@ DC9
$8
open bar 9pm-10:30pm (rail cocktails only)
All ages after 10:30pm

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Top Chef DC Starts Tonight!

Photo courtesy of
‘Tom Colicchio Shankbone 2010 NYC’
courtesy of ‘david_shankbone’

Tonight’s the big debut! Top Chef in DC starts tonight on Bravo at 9pm, and we’ll be firing up the ol’ live-chat machine at 8:45 to get things rolling. I have to say, of all the reality TV that DC’s suffered through, it’s nice to finally get something that might show us the city in a respectful, non-tabloid way. The show starts at nine tonight and features several cheftestants who will be competing for the Top Chef honor, judged by this grinning man above, as well as the lovely Padma Lakshmi and Gail Simmons.

Of course there are some locals in the mix. Look for:

  • Timothy Dean, born in DC and now living in Baltimore, hon, and graduate of Howard.
  • Tamesha Warren, who is Sous Chef at The Oval Room.

Set your alarms, we’ll see you back here at 8:45 sharp for some pre-show commentary.

Comedy in DC
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Comedy in DC: The Headliners

Now that summer is well and truly upon us, and the college crowds that sustain small, local comedy shows have packed up their dorms and off-campus apartments to head home, I thought it was time to point out some notable national headliners coming through the Improv and the Warner in the next few months. (There are probably notable headliners coming through the Arlington Drafthouse as well, but they don’t post their schedule several months in advance so that people can plan. *ahem*)

Alonzo Bodden is at the DC Improv this weekend. You’ve seen him on Last Comic Standing, and he’s come through the Arlington Drafthouse before (where he was completely hilarious), but this time he’s doing a full 4-night trip through the Improv. Matt Kazam will be appearing with him, so that’s a bonus. Continue reading →

News, The Daily Feed, Tourism, WTF?!
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Senator Webb Hates Tourbuses, Too

Photo courtesy of
‘tour-bus-parking’
courtesy of ‘RaVerXeNo2010’

Anyone who’s driven Independence or Constitution in the summertime knows the tour-bus hatred. Or 15th Street. Or Virginia Ave. Or 17th Street. Or really anywhere near the tourist areas of DC. These bastards park their motorcoaches whereever they darned-well please, and it’s a real pain in the ass to get anywhere when they’re here. My favorite is 15th Street at 3:30pm, where you can sometimes have buses triple parked, blocking all southbound traffic. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) feels your pain, and wrote a letter to Mayor Fenty to request a fix. Here’s his list of questions: Continue reading →

Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, Night Life, The Daily Feed
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psst, wanna see a free show?

Photo courtesy of
‘Amanda Palmer in State Theatre, Falls Church’
courtesy of ‘spiggycat’

Performer Amanda Palmer, formerly of the Dresden Dolls, is scheduled to play the 9:30 Club on Thursday with Jason Webley as their Siamese twin performance art duo Evelyn Evelyn. But Palmer’s special brand of punk cabaret cannot be contained to just one night, so she’s put the word out via Twitter that she’ll be holding court tonight (for free!) at the old Bethesda Theater. Palmer’s got the space for two hours starting at 6 sharp, and she’s urging fans (and curious bystanders) to “expect MADNESS, tell EVERYBODY, bring LOVE.” And really, whose Wednesday night couldn’t use a little more madness and love?

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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N Street Village Night Sessions Comin’ Atcha

Photo courtesy of
‘Setting up at Rock and Roll Hotel’
courtesy of ‘dcjasmine’

There’s a new night-life music event call N Street Village Night Sessions taking the stage at the Rock & Roll Hotel next week. Here’s the run down on the situation:

  • Who: N Street Village, a nonprofit organization in DC that offers a safe, empowering community for homeless women to gain stability.
  • What: Food, drink, live music, and mingling while supporting an important cause for the DC community.  Tickets are just $35 for open bar, food and live music from three local artists: Evan Bliss, Tom McBride and Ro Sham Bo.
  • When: Thursday, June 24, 2010, 7:30 p.m. – midnight.
  • Where: Rock & Roll Hotel, 1353 H Street, NE, Washington DC 20002.
  • Cost: $35, order online at EventBrite.

Here’s “why” you should even attend:

  1. Live music
  2. It helps people
  3. The Rock & Roll Hotel rules
  4. Did I mention live music, helping people, and the fact that the Rock & Roll Hotel is always awesome?
The Daily Feed
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Donate Your Old PC


Stupid Computer!!! by f1uffster (Jeanie)

Do you have an old PC tucked away in your closet or one that you use as a footstool?  Well you should consider donating it to the fine folks at DCWEEK.  From June 16 through June 19th, lug your old (or new) flat panel monitors, desktops, or laptops down to 900 Massachusetts Ave NW where they will be refurbished and given to low income families by nonprofits First Time Computers and Byte Back.  There is a list of no-nos however:

  • PC’s only, no Apple computers
  • The computer must less than 8 years old
  • No CRT monitors, audio equipment, phones, large printers, faxes, scanners, or manuals
  • Bring things unboxed
  • Make sure they can be reused and aren’t in a state of total disrepair

Also, I highly recommend that you permanently delete all data from your hard drives.  For more details, check out DCWEEK’s link.

The Daily Feed
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What’s Eating John Lannan?

Lannan (B&W) Photo by Cheryl Nichols/Nationals News Network
Photo by Cheryl Nichols/Nationals News Network

The left-hander has no idea what’s wrong, which leaves an already shaky Nationals rotation a little shakier a few weeks before the All-Star break.

Lannan (2-4) allowed seven runs, six earned, in 4 1/3 innings Sunday while the Nationals proceeded to lose 7-4 in what could have been a winnable game to the Detroit Tigers last night. This is due in part to Lannan’s weakness from the mound.

The Nationals offense produced run support for Lannan early on and were up 4-2 in the fourth, but that wasn’t enough to keep them ahead.

“We need to put this one behind us,” Rodriguez told MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. “Our bullpen has been great and was great again tonight and Walker and Sean [Burnett, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning] gave us a chance to win.”

According to Nats Insider Mark Zuckerman, Lannan continues to string together the worst back-to-back starts of his career. The most puzzling part of the Lannan weak-start debacle is that the lefty who earned the past two opening day starts for Washington due to his consistent and reliable work is no longer proving he’s the same guy.

The problem eating away at Lannan and affecting his game as well as the Nats win-loss count is his trademark sinker that’s been a cornerstone of his success as a pitcher thus far. The problem is the ball’s not sinking. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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The Haynesworth Situation

Photo courtesy of
‘00207256’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

The word came last night, from his agent, Albert Haynesworth has no interest in playing for the Redskins. He has demanded a trade from the franchise, citing the change in management, and disagreements that have followed. When signed, there was lots to say about Haynesworth and his $100M contract, and it wasn’t exactly all good. To see a player making literal millions of dollars per season throw a temper tantrum because of a change in the front of the office? It’s shameful.

As it stands, the Redskins have paid this joker $55,000 per snap for his “work” last season, which saw Haynesworth on the sidelines more than he was on the field, due to injury. My thought? Trade him to Detroit and let him languish with those losers for a while. But I may just be a bitter and vindictive sports fan today.

Haynesworth likely faces steep fines for missing Mini Camp that started this morning, as well as other team-mandated activities that he has refused to attend since his pathetic display of selfishness began.   Here’s hoping the Skins can levy some pain out on Haynesworth for his insouciance.

The Daily Feed
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Real Housewives of D.C.

Photo courtesy of
‘Lincoln’s Cottage Southern Exposure’
courtesy of ‘christaki’

Bravo has announced that the Real Housewives of D.C will premiere on the network August 5th at 9 PM.  The  cast will include Catherine Ommanney, Lynda Erkiletian (founder of T.H.E Artist Agency, or as Bravo puts it, “one of the top modeling agents in D.C.” — Bravo, how many model agencies do you think we actually have?), Mary Schmidt Amons, Michaele Salahi (yes, part of the White House crasher duo), and Stacie Scott Turner.

Although I have no idea if this Real Housewives franchise will be as popular as NYC or NJ, I definitely will be tuning in.  I welcome any opportunity to support the city I love and watch mind-numbing TV all at the same time.

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Bettye LaVette

Betty LaVette @ 9:30 Club 6/24/10

As a way to say thanks to our loyal readers, We Love DC will be giving away a pair of tickets to a 9:30 Club concert to one lucky reader each week. Check back here every Wednesday morning at 9am to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

For this week’s giveaway, we have a pair of tickets to see R&B, soul veteran Bettye LaVette perform at the 9:30 Club on Thursday, June 24th.

Bettye LaVette is a true soul warrior. She has been singing in the trenches for five decades; constantly reinventing herself and perfecting her approach to that after hours place where soul, R&B, and jazz blend together into a sexy, humid sound. It is almost hard to believe that this late into a career she can finally be hitting her peak, but that is exactly what Bettye LaVette is doing. For the last ten years, Ms. LaVette has been a recording dynamo; recording and releasing albums with more regularity and consistency than ever before. Here is a performer who seems to have put the insecurities of youth behind her and has emerged a more confident performer than ever before. This is best demonstrated on her latest album “Interpretations: The British Songbook“. On “Interpretations…” Ms. LaVette takes on the daunting task of rearranging classic British Rock songs like The Rolling Stones’ ‘Salt of the Earth’ and The Who’s ‘Love Reign O’er Me’. Ms. LaVette reworks these hugely recognizable songs in a way that transcends the “cover song” tag by completely owning them. Only a real master could accomplish such a thing so beautifully. The chance to see Bettye LaVette perform these interpretations and other songs from her impressive career at the 9:30 Club is a special opportunity for DC music fans.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 4pm today. One entry per email address, please. Tickets for this show are also available through Ticketfly. If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts.

For the rules of this giveaway…
Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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DC Triathlon this Sunday

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_5490’
courtesy of ‘photopete’

DC is known for hosting the Nation’s Triathlon every year, which has become one of the bigger triathlons in the country with 6,000 participants. But the race sells out very quickly and only has an Olympic-distance course. To encourage more local participation and more first-time triathletes, the folks who put on the Nation’s Tri started the DC Triathlon this year, which will be run this Sunday starting at 5:30 AM. This race includes two different distances, with courses that include a swim in the Potomac, a bike through Rock Creek Park, and a run around the Mall.

The inaugural race is sold out, but I’d recommend heading down to watch the craziness this weekend. I completed last year’s Nation’s Triathlon, and I’m registered for this Sunday’s race, so I’ll see you out there!

The Daily Feed
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DC Liquor Stores to Open for the 4th

Photo courtesy of
‘A Thousand Points of Light’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’

The DC Council voted today to allow District liquor stores to be open on Independence Day. Since July 4th falls on a Sunday and liquor sales are usually not allowed on Sunday, it took an act of the council to decide that residents can run out for a last minute bottle of bourbon for their picnics and cookouts. Cue the usual hand-wringing about the dangers of alcohol mixed with fireworks, which means it’s a good time for me to remind you about DC’s fireworks laws. Basically, you can’t have anything that explodes, or which moves on its own after you light it.

Virginia liquor stores, however, will still be closed on the 4th. (Edited to clarify: That is, VA liquor stores which are typically closed on Sundays will still be closed on that particular Sunday.) So, last-minute party shoppers of NoVa: We in DC welcome your dollars.

The Daily Feed, We Green DC
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Wed. Screening: How Everyday Folks Bring Change

Environmental Film Fest logo

If you’ve ever thought of starting your own sustainably sourced salad shop or of plucking all the trash from the city streets, check out tomorrow night’s screening of Climate of Change, a film that shows how ordinarily people are making a difference for the planet, around the planet.

It shows how self-described “hillbillies” in Appalachia battle strip mining and mountaintop removal, a London woman starts an environmental communications firm, a 13-year-old in India rallies against plastics, and more.

The screening starts at 6:30 p.m. at Georgetown’s Letelier Theater, and a wine reception catered by Sweetgreen follows. Tickets are $20 and RSVPs are required to this Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital event.

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Metro to Remember 22 June Accident

Photo courtesy of
‘metro’
courtesy of ‘spiggycat’

Metro announced this afternoon that they will hold a remembrance ceremony at the Fort Totten metro on June 22nd at 10am, to remember the accident that claimed the lives of nine riders last year. The families of the dead will also dedicate a plaque to their memories, and lay a wreath in honor of all victims.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since the deadly crash. The system is still operating in crisis mode, with no clear timetable to resume normal operation, and the city’s relationship with WMATA is on the rocks. It’s hopeful that the release of the NTSB findings will begin to put some milestones in place for Metro to work toward, and more importantly, talk about publicly. While they wait for the NTSB to write the final report, their hands are very much tied about what they can say publicly.

The text of the plaque is after the break. Continue reading →

Adventures, Business and Money, The Daily Feed
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DC Crafts: Find Of The Day

Photo courtesy of
‘God’s Eyes’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

Maybe it’s the hot and humid weather, or maybe it’s because I feel like the city scene has been a little lethargic over the last few months, but I think we’re in need of some daily, local craftiness to inspire us to greatness.

So here it is. Today’s DC Craft of the Day comes to us from Etsy seller ksickles, who’s Washington DC  Metro Area Glass Tile Pendant will allow you to “Declare your love for Washington DC” and the surrounding hoods of Rockville, Baltimore, Annapolis, Alexandria and Arlington. FYI: The pendant is not waterproof, so no jumping in the Potomac with it on.

Fashionable DC, Featured Photo
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The Seersucker Social in Photos


All photos by Max Cook

This past Saturday was a crazy day in DC.  Despite the sweltering heat, dedicated soccer fans filled Dupont Circle to cheer for their favorite teams.  Hoards of people filled the streets to watch or partake in the Pride Parade.  However my choice of torture was to participate in the Seersucker Social.  What was supposed to be a delightful, dandy of a bike ride through Rock Creek Park was actually a hot, sweaty, feat of endurance.

As a witness to the Tweed Ride last fall, I was determined not only to photograph the Social, but to participate in it as well.  While my normal summer attire consists of shorts and a t-shirt, I purchased some seersucker pants, a matching belt, and a madras tie to add a little flare to the ensemble.  Had the temperature been 65 degrees and the humidity low, I would have been fine, however with temps in the 90’s and the humidity of a Vietnamese jungle, I was miserable the second I stepped out of my door.  That’s not to mention the fact that I had borrowed a friend’s vintage Goodyear, bazillion pound, single speed bicycle that I had to push uphill to the finish line.

Are you tired of me complaining yet?  Good, because I’m done.  Once I had taken a bath in the restroom sink at Hillwood Estate and drank a gallon of water, I was rejuvenated and ready to start documenting the affair.  This was my first visit to Hillwood and let me say that it’s straight out of the movies.  With stately buildings, manicured lawns, and acres of beautiful greenery, it was the perfect setting to socialize with other seersucker-wearing sweat bombs.  The sun soon hid behind some clouds, refreshing (amazing) drinks were served, and music began to play.  As for the rest of the afternoon, well, I’ll let my photos speak for themselves.

Continue reading →