By Rebecca
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’
Vox Populi has conducted an unofficial survey of those sad, sad people waiting in line at Georgetown Cupcake through hail, sleet, humidity, blazing heat, etc. The poll gives us an inside peak into the GC shopper political affiliations, average wait times, where GC shoppers are from, are they repeat visitors and how did they hear from GC. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of GC visitors were first timers and they had not heard of Baked & Wired :(
By Patrick Pho
This piece was almost over before I would have the chance to write it.
After running across dating blog Date Me, D.C.!, it quickly found a place in my Google Reader. I wanted to seek her out and learn more about the woman who’s “never experienced a coffee date, a blind date, a date you go on as a favor to your mom/aunt/best friend/etc., a bad date, a stood-up date — none of it!” After two long-term, monogamous relationships she found herself single- not a problem when you live in one of the nation’s best cities for single women. With a new sense of freedom and a hint of naiveté, this Cincinnati native set out to experience dating in the city head-on and decided to document her dating adventures for all of us to read.
However a few days after I interviewed her she decided to take a break from dating.
By Tom Bridge
‘Quio #7’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’
This morning’s deadly shooting in the DPW parking lot near W Street NE has caused today’s trash/recycling/bulk waste scheduled pickups to be pushed off a day while the organization regroups. MPD has blocked off some areas of the waste processing facility and the streets nearby, which prevented DPW from serving citizens today. This has created a bit of a scheduling issue, as trash days were already being delayed a day due to the Columbus Day holiday.
Our hearts go out to the family of Larry Hutchins, who was killed in the incident, and our thoughts for a speedy recovery go out to the injured worker, who has not yet been named.
Here’s the details on your next pickup:
While Michelle Rhee announced her resignation from DC Public Schools today and everyone is wondering what’s next for her, it seems she’s also quietly answering that question.
MichelleRhee.org contains a blog, the obligatory Facebook and Twitter profiles (all of which only contain her resignation statement at this point), and the most interesting part- a “share your ideas about education reform” box and newsletter signup that both collect user ZIP codes. Continue reading
By Samer Farha
Today’s Talkin’ Transit is an homage to Amtrak. Well, really, an homage to all things train. Amtrak just happens to be our primary ride, here in the Nation’s Capital.
What is it about train travel? There’s an old world feel to taking the train. It seems more civilized, certainly, than air travel. It’s less stressful, too. And, while driving might be faster and more convenient, it’s also more stressful (and depending on route, not cheaper, either).
Obviously, a lot of you like the train, too. Amtrak says it has 65% share of the DC to NY air/rail market — which, even with the various bus services left out, still seems like a staggering number to me. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, though: every time I head to a business trip in NY, the Acela seems more and more full. A little over three hours from the heart of DC to the heart of NY, and no one has asked you to strip naked.
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By Dave Levy
‘Arenas toes the line’
courtesy of ‘afagen’
We may not know a lot about what role Gil Arenas will play with the Wiz this year, but I’ll tell you one thing, the storylines this year are going to keep it interesting. How about this one from the first home preseason game for the Wizards?
Washington coach Flip Saunders said before Tuesday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks that Arenas’ knee was bothering him. “His knee is acting up and is a little sore, and it looks like he’s going to sit this one out,” Saunders said.
But after the game, Arenas revealed his scheme to get Nick Young into the starting lineup.
“I told [Young] I’d sacrifice playing tonight so he can get some time in because I know he’s kind of frustrated he’s not getting a chance to crack the [small forward] position, especially since we’re going three guards,” Arenas said, smiling. “So I told him I’ll go and fake an injury or say something’s wrong with me so you can start.”
The plan worked, for both Young and the Wizards. Young started, played 31 minutes and scored a team-high 24 points to lead the Wizards to a 107-92 win.
By Ashley
‘Pleasant Pops Food Truck’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’
Food trucks are everywhere today, including Pleasant Pops in their cool new truck.
By Dave Levy
‘Oh for my Pennsylvania residency’
courtesy of ‘erin m’
If you’re new to the area, you may not have had a chance yet to change your voter registration to your new home (especially if you just graduated). Given that it could be too late, you may want to start the search now into getting a hold of an absentee ballot for the various 2010 elections coming up on November 2nd.
Locally, here’s a few dates to keep in mind for the various jurisdictions:
Of course, if your point of origin is a little further away, there may be different rules for your state. Cross-check your own voting district on this handy chart from Long Distance Voter, and remember, it doesn’t matter who you vote for…just vote.
By Tom Bridge
‘The White House’
courtesy of ‘Paul Frederiksen’
On this day in 1792, the cornerstone for the most famous residence in the United States was laid at what would become 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The James Hoban-designed house would be completed around November 1st, 1800. For any of you who’ve survived home renovation with your sanity intact, I shudder to think of an eight year timescale for building a home, even one of the White House’s size and grandeur. If you want a good guide to the construction and features, and have a few minutes, the Wikipedia article on the building is quite a good read.
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!
This week we are giving away a pair of tickets to one of my most anticipated concerts of the season: Underworld at 9:30 Club on Monday, October 25th.
Underworld are an incredible experience live. Every fan of electronic music owes it to themselves to see Underworld live every chance they get because Underworld are quite simply the best live electronic dance act ever. I have been to some massive live parties in my time, I have seen just about all of the big names in electronica perform live, and I have never had as much fun as I have had at the three Underworld concerts I have attended. If you can’t tell by now, I am totally losing my sh*t over the fact that not only are Underworld performing in DC for the first time in years, they are doing it INDOORS at the best club around!!! With their latest album “Barking” (their best in a decade) Underworld are set to dominate the dance floor in two weeks. I am so excited to hook up some lucky reader with tickets to what I am sure will be the electronica concert of the year.* See you on the dancefloor!
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…
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By Dave Levy
‘stikman’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’
Those fun folks over at United Social Sports are doing more than skee ball these days, and the revelry this time also has a good cause to go with it. This Saturday, more than 1,500 of USS’s finest social sporters are getting together for a DC scavenger hunt set to raise more than $2,000 for the Capital Area Food Bank. Between those funds and non-perishable food donations, the event stands to help create more than 6,000 meals for the District residents who rely on the Food Bank.
Get a few friends together, head over to HuntDC.com, and see if you have what it takes to compete for some of the top cash prizes. The after party alone, featuring bocce and cornhole at the base of the Washington Monument, stands to be a great time as well. All for a good cause? Sounds like a great weekend.
By Tom Bridge
‘Pride Parade’
courtesy of ‘erin m’
Embattled DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee will turn in her resignation in the morning, effective 31 October 2010, according to multiple news sources. In the interim, her deputy chancellor Kaya Henderson will head the school system, according to our sources at DCPS. Henderson came with Rhee from The New Teacher Project, where she served as Vice President for Strategic Partnerships. If there’s one trait that Rhee lacked, it was the “playing well with others” category that so many of us relied on in Elementary School to keep us up with social promotion, and that seems to be a place where Deputy Chancellor Henderson shined. Before New Teacher Project, she was the Director of Admissions at Teach for America, and she has worked in difficult environments in Memphis, Atlanta and Baltimore amongst other challenging districts.
Unsuck DC Metro finds us this video of a young, drunk woman being arrested by a Metro police officer on September 16th. Some Twitter reports on the video indicate there were two officers, but there’s just one; the second male figure involved in the arrest seems to be a friend of the woman trying to intervene.
If you get caught by the police while you were drunk, the most common way out is to hire drink driving solicitors to help you getting the minimum penalty.
The dui meaning it is the acronym (abbreviation) identifying the motor vehicle crime for which local law (by any other acronym) seeks to arrest, prosecute, and punish that person for putting the public at risk.
The anonymous person who posted the video describes the events as follows (copied-and-pasted, all typos left intact):
Was recorded on 9-16-10. Taken inside the Gallery-Place Metro Station. A drunk girl goes up to a Metro Transit Police Officer and gets in his face. Despite two forceful warnings about getting into his face, she does it again. She is prompty taken down hard and furiously. She struggles, the cop tells her stop resisting. I am posting this video as a neutral party not on anyone side. This video could be used depending on the case. It was a case of catching an action live as it happned. If you are looking for legal help, then check here for white collar crime lawyer .
The poster only caught the tail end of the initial altercation between the woman and the officer, but gets a reasonably clear shot of the arrest itself- she’s tackled kind of roughly (a statement on the physical force with which it was done, not a judgment on whether or not the officer was right to do it), and ends up face-down on the floor, with the officer more or less lying on top of her. Her dress is pulled up and you can see her attempt to pull it down to cover herself several times while she was restrained on the floor. Eventually, she is pulled up to sit against the wall, while another woman and a man who were with her observe and appear to be confused about what they should be doing.
Larger version of the video below the jump- it’s easier to pick out what’s happening in the dark that way.
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‘George Clooney 66ème Festival de Venise (Mostra)’
courtesy of ‘nicogenin’
For the most part, celeb spotting in DC is limited to worm’s eye views of Air Force One. But keep your eyes peeled today: George Clooney is in town! The actor is here to help raise awareness about the ongoing political and civil strife in Sudan, an issue which he has made his pet cause in recent years. The Washington Post reports that the actor will meet with President Obama and Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), and will make a presentation at the Council of Foreign Relations this evening. So if you’re out and about in the Golden Triangle area tonight, be on the lookout for Batman.
By Ashley
Photo Courtesy of ThreeLockharts Communications
I’m sorry, did you say something? I was distracted by the sound of the sizzling, crackling sounds of a bacon fat bath coming from Arlington. And why, you ask? Well, it’s Restaurant 3’s annual Bacon Week from the 14th-21st and you’re invited.
There are plenty of events all week including a Bacon Curing Class, a Bacon Brunch and a daily Bacon Happy Hour. No word on Bacon Step Classes, but I’m sure you and your fellow carnivores can work something out on the side. The piece de resistance is the Bacon Tasting Menu, where for $30 a person you can sample Chef Brian Robison’s favorite bacon-filled dishes like Bacon Crusted Mahi-Mahi and Maple Bacon Ice Cream.
Having a bacon heart attack over here, and it’s good.
By Dave Levy
‘McDonald’s McRib’
courtesy of ‘theimpulsivebuy’
It’s a Tuesday afternoon, I’ve worked straight through lunch except for a vending machine field trip, and I’m going a little crazy because way too many of the blogs I check for either work or other writing are focusing too closely on food. Even the tech blogs I read to follow trends are keyed in on it. Case and point – Geekosystem, which just documented the oh-so-triumphant return of the McRib to the Land of the Golden Arches:
In what is quite possibly the most important information the human race has been privileged to hear this year, McDonald’s announced that their McRib sandwich will be back for the first time in sixteen years, nationwide, for about six weeks…Due to the edible wonderment and the mysterious availability of the sandwich, it sprung a rabid (for boneless pork shaped into a ribcage) fan base, even causing people to create and maintain the McRib Locator, a website that apparently gets 300 to 400 hits a week where people document McRib sightings so other addicted consumers can drive hours on end to obtain the barbecued holy grail.
My curiosity was officially piqued, so I did what any nowhere-near-sane-minded person would do. I loaded up the Locator and zoomed right in on the DC region to see if the McRib fix was already within my reach. And what do I see?
Last Thursday night, my prayers were answered when DC9 was visited for the second time in 2010 by Norway’s best entry in the shoegaze genre, Serena-Maneesh. For my money, S-M are hands-down the best band of the nu-gaze movement (shoegaze revival); yet they retain a relative unknown status here in DC. Their set on Thursday night was full of sonic beauty and brutal guitar noise, making the perfect case for why I hold them in such high regard amongst their peers.
Along for the ride was the “opening” act Woven Hand, who are quickly establishing themselves as legendary performers; particularly after a successful stint opening for Tool on the west coast. Woven Hand drew a larger crowd than our Norwegian visitors on Thursday night. I am not entirely surprised by that, but I am a little disappointed that so few people stuck around to sample S-M’s incredible live show.
By Patrick Pho
Did everybody have a good long weekend? I know that some didn’t get Monday off but now DC should be at full strength as we take a look at what DC is tweeting about today.
FedTalks Strolls Into Town
Combine politics and technology and what do you get? The FedTalks conference that has everybody in town over at the Sidney Harman Hall tweeting with the #fedtalks hashtag. References to Craig Newman‘s remarks this morning filled up the local timelines and local Arlington comedian Remy will be entertaining the crowds there as well.
Interesting choice of venue for FedTalks- could they not get the Convention Center? Perhaps the Shakespeare Company was looking for some extra revenue- regardless I’m sure it’s a pretty setting for a conference.
By Ashley
‘Day 251: Bibiana’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’
Esquire has released their list of the 20 best new restaurants of 2010, and D.C. has made it with downtown Italian eatery Bibiana. Mentioned alongside heavy hitters like Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s ABC Kitchen in New York and Wolfgang Puck’s WP24 in Los Angeles, Bibiana is the only representation from our nation’s capital.
Though they use the standard criteria of good food, friendly servers and boozy cocktails, this year Esquire also judged restaurants on the somewhat amorphous criteria of if the customers were “having fun” during their meal. One might claim that the level of fun is tied to the aforementioned boozy cocktails, but according to Esquire, fun means communal tables, day-of-the-week dinners, and Grandma-inspired Sunday suppers.
So does Bibiana deserve this high fun rating? And is it one of the best new restaurants in the country?
Eater has the full list here.
By shannon
‘Strasburg – Coming Spring 2012’
courtesy of ‘afagen’
We all know about the Sports Illustrated cover curse. And we know the story of the Madden NFL cover curse. But is the worst curse of all just being part of the Washington sports scene? That’s what ESPN claims, saying, “A star-destroying black hole of unimaginable proportions, the Washington curse goes beyond sports, touching everything from reality TV (worst seasons ever for “The Real World,” “Top Chef” and “The Real Housewives”) to politics (the reputation of any popular pol who stays in town long enough).” Ouch. But does the DC area really have a sports curse?
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