Monthly Archives: July 2010

The Daily Feed
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Capps Selected As All-Star, Zimmerman Up For Bid via “Final Vote” Fan Ballot

Photo by Cheryl Nichols/Nationals News Network

Reliever Matt Capps will be representing the Washington Nationals in the 2010 MLB All-Star game in Anaheim. This will be his first All-Star Game.

“You work your whole life for it,” Capps told The Washington Post’s Adam Kilgore. “To be voted on by the players, your peers and people you compete against, that makes it all the more special.”

The selection of Capps to the All-Star team is quite emotional for the pitcher having lost his father to a heart attack last October.

“It kind of hit me this morning when they told me,” Capps told Kilgore. “I wish he could see it. He’ll be with me.”

Capps is second in the major leagues with 22 saves this year.

The right-hander might not be the sole National representing Washington in sunny California for the mid-summer classic. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Happy Fourth of July from Nationals Park


Photo by Rachel Levitin

Happy Fourth of July to all residents in the greater D.C., Maryland, Virginia region. If you’re not already out getting your barbecue on or planting yourself atop that perfect spot on the National Mall, we do have some words from Nationals Manager Jim Riggleman regarding today’s Mets-Nats game live from the Nation’s capital on this, our Nation’s birthday:

“It’s very special. Washington was without baseball for a long time […]but Washington should have baseball. It’s a great thing that the Lerner family has brought baseball back to Washington and it’s all about what the country’s about. It’s patriotic, it’s Washington, D.C., it’s the capital, it’s baseball, it’s a beautiful day, it’s Sunday, it’s got all the making of a great day and baseball in Washington is very important, it’s our nation’s capital and it’s a perfect scenario.” Continue reading →

The Features
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Happy Birthday, America (and We Love DC!)

Photo courtesy of
‘Eastern Market Flags’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Today marks 234 years since 56 men stood on the steps of an assembly hall in Philadelphia and stood up for the rights of this nation against a tyrant king. We celebrate today for the declaration of our self-evident rights, among them Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. We celebrate today for the strength of conviction that freed a nation of subjects and made them into a nation of citizens.

What this nation has accomplished in her short life is nothing short of astounding. Though we may disagree about our recent past, there is much to celebrate in this country today, and I hope that we will all put aside our politics for a day to celebrate her many strengths and achievements.

Today is also a special day for us, as two years ago ten writers banded together to form this site. We launched on July 4th, 2008, declaring our independence from another site, now vacant. Today we stand twenty-eight strong, and DC’s best locally-owned blog. For that, we have you to thank, dear readers, and we appreciate your support these last two years. Look for an announcement about a party in your honor in the near future.

News, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Citing Safety Concerns, Metro Pulls All 4000-Series Cars

Photo courtesy of
‘Metro couple’
courtesy of ‘logan.brown’
At just four minutes to midnight on July 4th, WMATA announced that all of the 4000-series cars on Metrorail were being removed for safety concerns related to their door motors. The timing, while awkward, may prove advantageous given the lower than average ridership week and the federal holiday. The 4000-series cars apparently have an issue with their door motors that can occasionally cause a door to open while the train is moving. Each of the 100 cars will need to have all of its door motors removed, inspected, cleaned, and replaced before the cars can come back into service. It’s expected to be a process that will take 2-3 weeks. Early next week is expected to be the worst of the situation, as cars will be coming back online in pairs as the work is completed.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nats Come From Behind to Beat Mets

Pudge Rodriguez Swings
Photo by Max Cook, We Love DC

Though Stephen Strasburg’s start this afternoon would be the shortest in his brief tenure with the Nationals, going just 5IP and giving up a pair of runs to the Mets, the Nationals would rally late and pick up a victory. Strasburg struggled early with control and location, and gave up a pair of walks in the top of a 37-pitch first inning that left the Nationals down a run. He would be lifted for a pinch hitter (oddly, it was J.D. Martin who would hit for Strasburg in the 5th) after 96 pitches and five innings of work.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nats Finish First Half With 5-3 Loss to Mets

Tony Plush Shoes
Photo by Cheryl Nichols, Nats News Network

Tonight marked the halfway point for the Nationals’ season, and with a 35-46 record, a full ten game improvement over their 25-56 first half last year.  The bullpen tonight showed a bit of that ten game difference, with Joel Perralta, Sean Burnett, Miguel Batista and Doug Slaten combining for 5 2/3 of scoreless ball after starter Luis Atilano dug a 5-0 hole for the Nationals.  They’d scatter four hits in that span, and kept the Mets largely in check, hoping for an offense that would wake up.  In the ninth, they’d do just that.

Continue reading →

Life in the Capital, We Love Arts
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Chuck Close at the Corcoran


All photos by Max Cook

It would be an understatement to say that the Corcoran Gallery of Art has had an impressive track record over the past few years, hosting art exhibits that have been inspirational, education, and just downright beautiful.  Between the Annie Leibovitz, Richard Avedon, Edward Burtynsky, and Eadward Muybridge exhibits, I’ve walked away from the gallery with a sense of wonderment and a better understanding of the artist, not to mention a better appreciation of their art.

That’s not to say that I’ve been impressed with every exhibit on display at the Corcoran.  While I had high hopes in viewing the William Eggleston exhibit and understanding why his work is held in such high regard in the photography world, I was less than impressed.  My feeling was that he was an artist that did something first, but not necessarily best, and that is sometimes enough to carve a name for yourself.  In fact, even though Eggleston is known as one of the early adopters of color film, I found that I preferred many of his black and white photos to his color shots.

But if art was loved by everyone, none of it would be good.  This week I was fortunate to be part of a tour of the Corcoran’s latest exhibit, Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration, given by none other than the legendary artist himself.  While I found Leibovitz to be somewhat annoyed with the press and anxious to leave, Close was gracious, patient, and answered any questions that were asked of him.  I will always remember something that he said, and that is that we learn more from things that we don’t like than from things that we do like, which may mean that for me, viewing the Eggleston exhibit was more important that I had once thought.

Continue reading →

Downtown, Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, Night Life, Special Events, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: July Music Preview

Photo courtesy of
‘American Flags in Bensonhurst’
courtesy of ’emilydickinsonridesabmx’

Besides birthday’s in general, the Fourth of July is pretty much my favorite holiday. It’s a much needed mid-summer mini mental vaycay that recharges those brain batteries over a long weekend. Then, it’s on to the long awaited arrival of the dog days of summer.

We’ve got a simmering slew of fun shows you might not have necessarily found on the front page of Ticketmaster for the month of July. They’re guaranteed to give you some solid summer memories should you choose to partake, so check ’em out! Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, We Love Drinks
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Friday Happy Hour: Moonshine Iced Tea

Photo courtesy of
‘Easy Day’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’

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

For this holiday weekend which proudly celebrates our American independence, it might be treasonous to suggest you head over to British gastro-pub AGAINN for your happy hour, but there are two words guaranteed to make me do a happy dance in the world of drinks – tinctures and tea. Add moonshine, and well, say no more.

Ace bartender JP Caceres showed me how they are serving up a Moonshine Iced Tea cocktail with inspiration coming from the past – traveling medicine shows where old wives’ wisdom in the form of specially crafted tinctures cured all ails. Your bartender will mix up the base – 1 oz of your liquor choice, 1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 oz simple syrup, and a highball glass is filled with crushed ice and tea. Here’s the fun part – you then get to choose from several different tea-based tinctures with delightful names (like Happy Tummy, Dawn Chorus, Easy Day) splashing a few drops into your drink to your own taste. The idea is to use some old-fashioned knowledge to self-medicate and experiment with different tastes depending on your mood. The results are lovely – flavors ranging from herbal, floral and vegetal with the alcohol just a side note to tea’s invigorating kick.

Ok, that sounds tempting Jenn, but what the heck are tinctures anyway?
Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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A Thought on Tyranny

Photo courtesy of
‘Spark’
courtesy of ‘Techhie’

Sunday, in addition to being We Love DC’s 2nd Birthday, is Independence Day, the day we celebrate our rights to be free from English interference and to self-govern.  Twitter user Keith Ivey remarked that this morning’s reading of the Declaration of Independence on NPR reminded him that many of these same grievances against King George might also apply to the District and her citizens.  Among the obvious ones, I would point out:

  • He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
  • He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
  • He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation

While there’s been no plundering of our seas, or burning of our towns, or cutting off trade, or quartering soldiers in our homes, the mistreatment of residents of the District is not to be so easily glossed over. Take some time this weekend to think about what rights exist for the states but not for the District.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

All men. Not just those in Virginia and Maryland. Remember that much this weekend.

Life in the Capital, The District
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Why I Love DC: Rebecca

Photo courtesy of
‘Captured a taxi, despite all the rain’
courtesy of ‘KentonNgo’

They say when you meet the one, you just know. It’s the thrill. It’s the magic. It’s the joy. It’s the romance. It’s the respect you have for him, and he for you. It’s the way he makes you feel like the most beautiful creature in the world.

For me, DC is undeniably the one. I’ve flirted with Paris and set up house with St. Louis. I eloped with Brussels and begged for New York to have me. But it’s DC, my childhood home, that turned out to be the love of my life. Washington was the guy next door that took me by surprise and became my knight in shining armor.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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A little more equity for the 18-21 set

Photo courtesy of
‘chauffeur’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

The DC council has passed act 18-445 unanimously, removing the absolute restriction that a commercial driver’s license holder must be aged 21. There’s still some limitations that seem a little arbitrary; that license won’t allow the driver to command a school bus or any vehicle with more than 15 passengers, hazardous material, or weighing more than 26,001 pounds. If we view these things as so important that they require more competence and maturity then maybe they should be tied to experience and how long the license has been held, not an absolute age.

However it’s a good start on making equitable a process that already tests for knowledge and competency. Good on the council and the mayor for allowing folks old enough to die for their country to have equal opportunity to earn a living.

All Politics is Local, The District, The Features
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Campaign Notebook: July 2, 2010

Photo courtesy of
‘Pride Parade’
courtesy of ‘erin m’
There are 74 days left until the primary.

As we approach the holiday weekend, the mayoral campaign continues to ratchet up a bit. Education was the big topic this week, a subject that most certainly matters and most certainly will not fade. There’s been some developments in the Ward 1 race, and Vincent Orange is becoming a bit more visible. There’s been a good deal of news, so let’s get to it. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Stage 5 Clinger Situation Ends With 5 Years in Prison

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘dno1967’

Back in January we told you about the woman charged with breaking into her ex’s house and camping out in the attic with some food and a toilet bucket.  She allegedly called her ex 100+ times in one evening and sent threatening text messages and e-mails when the other woman ended the relationship.  Well,  justice has been served and she’s now headed to jail for five years.

A judge sentenced Taylar Nuevelle to five and a half years for breaking into Janet Albert’s home and camping out in the attic for over 24 hours.  Let that be a lesson to you– in the heat of the moment after a breakup, maybe it seems like a good idea to go all bat-shit crazy and camp out in your ex’s attic, but there are repercussions.  Unfortunately, it seems this lesson hasn’t quite been learned, as Nuevelle’s lawyer says that the real lesson here is “don’t have a bad breakup with a lesbian judge.”  But I think we all can agree that the ice-bucket-as-toilet situation really pushes this from bad breakup to prison-worthy offense.

Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Win Tickets to Explore Leonardo’s Universe

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_6846’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’

Our friends at the National Geographic Museum are giving WeLoveDC readers a chance to win some tickets to the July 8 lecture “Exploring Leonardo’s Universe” with special guest Dr. Bülent Atalay. Author of Math and the Mona Lisa and Leonardo’s Universe, Dr. Atalay offers a comprehensive look at Leonardo, his work, and his world. Both a scientist and artist, Dr. Atalay is uniquely qualified to give a comprehensive overview of Da Vinci’s art, discoveries, and the many ways his genius has influenced the world around us. The lecture is a companion event to the free exhibit “Da Vinci – The Genius,” currently showing at the National Geographic Museum.

We’ll be giving away two pairs of tickets today to the lecture; simply comment below and use a legit email address and your first name. We’ll draw our winners today at 1 pm. And don’t worry if you don’t win today – you’ll get another shot at some more tickets next week.

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Caps Enter Free Agency Fray

Photo courtesy of
‘Dany Sabourin’
courtesy of ‘Yokitis’

After remaining quiet on “Free Agent Frenzy” day in the NHL yesterday, the Washington Capitals have begun making a small amount of noise this morning, signing goalie Dany Sabourin to a one-year contract. (Details not yet released by the team.) Sabourin was technically with the Bruins last season but spent the year in Providence/AHL with a 28-27-0 record, 2.67 GAA, .915 save percentage, and 3 shutouts. He dressed for the Bruins as a back up for two games in March. Sabourin played previously for the Flames, Canucks, and Penguins. Most of his NHL experience comes from his 2007-2009 stint with the Penguins, notching a 16-17-3 record with two shutouts.

It’s a surprising move for a well-stacked Caps net; with Varlamov probably stepping into the lead role, it’ll be interesting now to see who slips in as backup between Neuvirth and Sabourin. Most likely, the Caps are positioning to cover Neuvirth’s move to the NHL by placing a veteran minor leaguer with the Hershey Bears.

More signing updates as they come.

Music, The Daily Feed
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Photos: Welcome back, Fort Reno.

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

I love Fort Reno. And I don’t mean in some, “Oh man, that’s a great event” sort of way. I mean…well, you remember that scene in “Say Anything” where John Cusack is holding up the boom box outside Ione Skye’s window? That’s how I feel about Fort Reno, the summer concert series that kicked off Thursday night. Fort Reno to me is summer. It is grass. It is picnics. It is kids and dogs and ice cream trucks and glorious sunsets and, most importantly, it is music.

Thursday’s show became the de facto kick-off for this year’s series after the threat of rain canceled last Monday’s concert, and a drummer’s broken arm forced the usual trio of bands to become a twosome–let’s hope that’s it for the curse-like events this year. The two bands, Gangland Buries Its Own and Sleeper Agent, stepped up admirably and gave a great welcome to this year’s concerts. After the jump, photos of the picnics,  the people, the glorious sunset and the music.

Continue reading →

The Features, Where We Live
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Where We Live: Crystal City

Photo courtesy of

‘Crystal City – Lightning Ball’
courtesy of ‘Mo Kaiwen è�«æ¥·æ��’

Welcome to another edition of Where We Live. This week we’re hopping on the yellow line, crossing the river, and checking out Crystal City.  When I started looking into Crystal City for this feature, I wasn’t too sure what I would find– a neighborhood named after a chandelier that claims to be Arlington’s largest downtown?  All I knew of it was that there were lots of hotels and office buildings.  But what I found was a lot of people who absolutely love living in Crystal City.  Read on to hear what’s great about Crystal City, as well as some recommendations about what to check out next time you’re in the area!

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Foggy Bottom Escalator Backup


(Thanks to peroty for the mobile photo and heads-up)

If you’re aiming to get into or out of Foggy Bottom Metro station on the Orange Line this morning, be warned that at the moment two escalators are closed, and the only open escalator is going up. This, and one broken platform escalator, make getting out difficult, and getting in pretty much impossible (unless you like lining up for the elevator).

Alternatives: Farragut West, or Rosslyn + blue bus or 38B. We have, of course, been here before.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Scrappy Nats Pull It Together Against The Mets


Photo by Ian Koski/Nationals Daily News

“Don’t get too caught up in the calendar, but June is over.” Manager Jim Riggleman’s got a point there.

The Washington Nationals pulled off a bottom of the ninth 2-1 victory thanks to a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and one out off the bat of Ryan Zimmerman. Up until then, the starting pitching on both sides proved solid and spectacular for the National League East rivals. It was a pitching duel for sure. Continue reading →