Monthly Archives: April 2011

The Daily Feed
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This Ain’t Atlanta and the 4/6 Sports Ticker

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Lead Item: Sports Ticker Wheel of Morality turn, turn, turn, tell us the lesson that this Nats fan should learn. I’m giving a pass for a poor April Fools’ joke by the fellas over at Nationals Enquirer for dragging up this clip of a Nationals Park patron making a bit of a fool of himself during opening weekend. As the scene tells us, there were a few Braves fans in town for the series, and this gentlemen clearly had had enough of their Tomahawk Chopping attitudes.

All of this has given me a bit of inspiration because even in his truncated English, this man is right: this ain’t Atlanta. In the last five seasons, the driving perception involves away fans who infiltrate the bleachers. How true is it? Not to give you the six o’clock news teaser runaround, but tune in next week for more. For now, just enjoy a screaming man.

Ah, baseball, welcome back.

Rest of the ticker after the jump.
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Talkin' Transit
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Talkin’ Transit: The Longest Walk

Photo courtesy of
‘portraVC_TEST_ROLL6’
courtesy of ‘dr_kim_veis [”o ]’

One thousand one hundred feet. Does that sound like too long of a walk? What if you had bags and were headed to an airport?

That was the decision in front of the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority Dulles Corridor Committee this morning, and it seems the answer was, “yes, it is too far to walk.” The committee, as reported by WTOP’s Adam Tuss, voted to support a below ground station that would bring the Metrorail extension to Dulles about 500 feet from the terminal.

The problem is that this is going to come at an additional cost of about $300 million. That’s roughly half a million dollars per foot that we move closer to the terminal.

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Entertainment, Music, The Daily Feed
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Hot Ticket: Wire @ Black Cat, 4/7/11

Remember when there was that early to mid-00’s wave of pop bands masquerading as post-punk revivalists? Of course you do. Well, while most of those bands have already run out of steam, first wave post-punks like Wire have been going strong for over 30 years. Kind of puts the more recent generations to shame a bit, don’t it? I mean where is their commitment? Not to mention their innovation, experimentation, and/or stamina?!

Wire are one of the holy trinity of bands that mutated punk into post-punk in the UK back in the golden age and they have been mutating their own sound going on four decades now. Four! Their latest album, “Red Barked Tree” is phenomenal. During a conversation I had at the recent Gang of Four show, I said that Wire’s latest sort of had no right to be as ridiculously good as it is. I mean, c’mon guys, you’re making the kids these days look ridiculous. Where do you get off releasing an absolutely vital recording this late in your career? Put “Red Barked Tree” up against some of Wire’s earliest and best work and it doesn’t sound like they’ve aged a day. This concert is going to be fantastic!

Wire
w/ Weekend
@ Black Cat
4/7/11 – 8pm
$20

WTF?!
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DC songwriters perpetrate fraud upon unsuspecting listeners

Photo courtesy of
‘John Denver’s Greatest Hits’
courtesy of ‘thejcgerm’

Okay, the headline on this one is a total joke, but I’m going to stick to my gut this morning and go with it.  I couldn’t believe it as I drove across town, listening to WAMU, but it turns out that John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” was:

A) Written here in DC in 1971
B) Was once about Massachussetts
C) Was written for Johnny Cash

Oh God. Really? Yes, Really.

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Adventures, Crime & Punishment, Eat Like Me, Food and Drink, History, Music, Petworth, The Daily Feed
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Bethesda Row Restaurant Week: 04/11 – 04/17

Photo courtesy of

‘Bethesda Lane’ courtesy of ‘Payton Chung’

Bethesda Row’s Spring Restaurant Week kicks off this Monday, April 11 and runs through Sunday, April 17. Participating restaurants include: American Tap Room, Café Deluxe, Jaleo, Lebanese Taverna, Mamma Lucia, Mon Ami Gabi, Parker’s American Bistro, Raku, and Redwood Restaurant and Bar, who will offer two course lunches for $15 and three course dinners for $30.

Standouts in these pre-fixes include American Tap Room’s Open Faced Meatloaf Sandwich, Raku’s Green Tea Crème Brulée, Redwood’s Crispy Salt Cod Croquette and Jaleo’s Ensalada Verde con Queso Idiazábal (mixed greens with Idiazábal cheese, spanish anchovies and garlic anchovy dressing). Diners can preview the restaurant week menus before making reservations at the Bethesda Row website.

In addition to these fabulous meals offered at low prices, Bethesda Row is hosting an online contest to win a $250 dinner certificate to Redwood restaurant.
Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: The Dirty Heads

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!

Two tickets to see The Dirty Heads at 9:30 Club on Monday, April 11th. You know you want them…

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. 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. Tickets for this concert are available on Ticketfly.

For the rules of this giveaway…
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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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For first time in three years, Wizards win a 3rd straight game

Photo courtesy of
‘John Wall | Wizards’
courtesy of ‘Danilo.Lewis|Fotography’

Like a lot of things, basketball works in mysterious ways. If Austin Daye’s buzzer-beating three-point shot Tuesday night had done what many thought it was going to do and rattled through the net, Washington’s 107-105 win over the Detroit Pistons would instead have gone down as one of the three most excruciating losses of a largely excruciating season (my top two being the 95-94 home loss to Miami on December 18, the day the Gilbert Arenas trade was officially announced and the Wizards blew a four-point lead with 17 seconds remaining, and the 100-99 home loss to Orlando on November 27 that was settled with a Dwight Howard baby hook).

But Daye’s shot didn’t rattle through the net. Instead, it rattled back out, leaving the Wizards players shaken by just how close a call they’d had. “I’ve never seen [a shot like that],” said John Wall after the game. “I’ve never seen one go all the way in like that before coming out.”

“We’ve lost enough tough ones,” Flip Saunders said ruefully after the game. “We deserve a little bit of luck. That last one was definitely pretty right on.” Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Bryce Harper To See Field in Hagerstown Exhibition

Photo courtesy of
‘Bryce Harper’
courtesy of ‘Scott Ableman’

The human superlative himself, aka Washington Nationals prospect Bryce Harper, will not join the short list of players who jumped right into the major leagues. After picking up seven hits, two doubles and five RBI in 18 spring training at bats, Harper was shipped down to the farm and the Nationals Single-A affiliate in Hagerstown.

The Hagerstown Suns’ regular season kicks off on Thursday against the Rome Braves in Georgia, but prior to that series in the Peach State, the Suns will have an intrafranchise, exhibition battle with the Double-A affiliate of the Nats, the Harrisburg Senators. Harper is likely to see the field in today’s exhibition at Municipal Field, and I’m sure that he has the same hope to move quickly through the minors like last year’s top Nats prospect. Can’t remember what that guy’s name was.

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Sara Bareilles @ Rams Head Live!, 4/3/11

DSC05141-1
all photos by Mike Kurman

After I heard that he was a big fan, I asked guest reviewer and concert photographer, Mike Kurman to cover the Sara Bareilles concert for We Love DC.

On a cold, rainy Sunday night in Baltimore, Sara Bareilles grabbed hold of the diverse, multi-aged crowd and didn’t let go for her hour and forty minute set. Rarely have I seen a performer with such confidence as Bareilles. Supporting the excellent ‘Kaleidoscope Heart’ LP, Bareilles came out with a backing four piece band that was equally energetic and extremely tight. There was no warming up or easing into the set. Barielles came out banging on the keys of a royal blue baby grand while swaying, swerving, and singing. Her voice didn’t crack once throughout the evening, not one note was sour or even close to off key, as it echoed off the industrial brick walls of Rams Head Live! as if it was a temple. The performance was downright flawless.

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Entertainment, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Video Game Art Voting Extended!

Photo courtesy of
‘DC Meetups – 09-03-22 – Your Move’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’

In response to public demand, the Smithsonian American Art Museum has extended the deadline for public voting for the video games to be featured in its upcoming exhibition, “The Art of Video Games.” The voting period, originally scheduled to end April 7, now will close at midnight, Sunday, April 17.

The website offers participants a chance to vote for 80 games from a pool of 240 proposed choices in various categories, divided by era, game type and platform. More than three million votes have been cast since the voting site launched Feb. 14. A valid e-mail address is required to vote.

The winning games will be announced publicly Thursday, May 5. Anyone who registered to vote will receive advance notification of the winning games, as well as monthly updates and special behind-the-scenes offers leading up to the exhibition opening in Washington, D.C. and throughout the run of the exhibition.

“The Art of Video Games” is the first to explore the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects and the creative use of new technologies. Chris Melissinos, founder of Past Pixels and collector of video games and gaming systems, is the curator of the exhibition. The exhibition will be on display at the museum from March 16, 2012 through Sept. 30, 2012; it then will travel to multiple venues in the United States.

The Features
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Virginia Tourism, NPS, “Art” and Advertising Money

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

You may have noticed the sculpture of the word “LOVE” erected in Dupont Circle last week. While it was billed as an art installation, it was actually part of an ad blitz done for the Virginia Tourism campaign, and the Park Service isn’t happy at all about being lied to.  According to Lydia DePillis from the City Paper, the installation was removed with prejudice Friday.

Virginia Tourism took down their blog posting on the takeover, but the press release remains online.

What would an ad like that cost, though? I know you can’t buy ad space in Dupont Circle, as it’s Park Service land and they don’t permit advertising on public land, even in DC, but I did some talking to media buyers today, and came up with some numbers.

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The Daily Feed
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Community coaches: Be a fitness inspiration

Photo courtesy of
‘not a mass “YMCA” singalong’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

The DC Department of Health is launching a media campaign called “Live Well DC!” and they need 8 spokesmodels. But not just any run-of-the-mill, perfectly-toned, dazzling-smile spokesmodels, oh no.

DoH is looking for volunteers to serve as Community Coaches. Eight people who “represent the city’s diversity” and who want to increase their physical activity will be featured in the citywide campaign designed to inspire DC residents to get up and move with them.

The casting call says they’re looking for “all shapes and sizes,” and the profile sheet indicates that they’re pretty serious about that, so if this sounds like fun, the casting call is this Saturday from 11-3 at the Old Council Chambers near the Judiciary Square Metro.

Sports Fix, The Features
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Opening Day Disparities

Photo courtesy of
‘Pickle’s Pub’
courtesy of ‘pvsbond’

Yesterday afternoon in the perfect weather in Baltimore, 46,593 fans turned out at Camden Yards to watch the Orioles open their home season against the Detroit Tigers. A technical sellout for the O’s, while the Nationals drew 2,000 under the capacity for Nationals Park. The weather couldn’t have been more different, and the atmosphere in Baltimore yesterday was of a different character than that of Washington. Two ballparks, both palaces of the sport, but two very different crowds. Why? What essential character is present in Baltimore that is lacked in DC?

It could be a matter of longevity of fanbase, that much is true. The Orioles’ roots in Baltimore go back to 1954, but the franchise is one of the original eight franchises in American League baseball, tracing its heritage to the St. Louis Browns and the Milwaukee Brewers. Their first few seasons, as well as the Nationals’, were rough. From 1954 through 1959, the team spent six seasons in the cellar of their division. In 1959, going 74-80, they finished 6th of 8, and 7th of 8 in attendance, much as the Nationals have done. With 50 years of additional history, you’re going to build a lot of loyalty, especially with three World Series titles, three additional league pennants, and four more playoffs appearances. So yes, a longevity of franchise can build camaraderie through suffering and through success.

But what of atmosphere and ambiance? It’s hard not to see the significant differences between Nationals Park and Camden Yards. Where Nationals Park has nothing but the Bullpen (an ad-hoc space barely constructed over an empty lot), Camden Yards has a number of nearby options for revelry and a strong vendor culture. The street meat is strong in Baltimore, but weak in DC. Let’s look at some that, shall we? Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Shutdown Looms: Now what?

Photo courtesy of
‘Locked’
courtesy of ‘John-Morgan’

Late yesterday Speaker Boehner told House Republicans to get their staffs ready for the shutdown and the impact on the government of a full shutdown. This morning the White House did the same, asking OMB to distribute shutdown priorities and protocols to agencies today. While negotiations are far from over, there are three days until the continuing resolution expires, there’s certainly cause for concern as the two sides have each said this is the last midnight for negotiations.

As we approach the deadline, we’re hearing that the District Government may also have to shut down.  Why? As Mike Madden, editor of the City Paper, tweeted this morning: “Why would fed shutdown shut down D.C.? Because all of D.C.’s local tax revenue has to be re-appropriated back to city by Congress.”  So, even though the city runs on local tax revenue, the appropriations process being halted stops the flow of money into the city.

In their breakfast meeting this morning, the council was told that the Mayor has designated the entire DC Council staff as essential, but OMB questioned that choice, according to WTOP’s Mark Segraves.  Segraves also quoted Councilman Catania as saying, “This is bullshit,” which is just about how I feel about it.

If a shutdown does come, we’re looking at a standstill across the city.  As a friend sent over, though, that doesn’t mean that everything’s closed. This is still a town with a lot to do, even when a shutdown’s on.

Featured Photo, The Features
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of
‘Vintage’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

This shot could have been taken fifty years ago. A slightly rusty 1950s era Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe, parked on the cobblestones near a tram line in Georgetown. About the only thing in this shot that looks out of place is the parking sign, but who knows?

Kim Baker‘s processing of the shot also adds a hint of “vintage” without overdoing it or distracting from the composition and subject of the shot.

News, The Daily Feed
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Storm brutalizes area

Photo courtesy of
‘Harvest Moon Thunderstorm’
courtesy of ‘MudflapDC’

Unless you sleep like the dead, you know about the line of storms that ran through the area about 4:45am this morning, which woke me out of a solid slumber.  The rain pounded against our windows, the wind whistling through the windows.  According to the Capital Weather Gang, a line of tornadoes moved from Upper Marlboro to Marlton in the 5am timeframe.

So go easy today, DC, everyone’s been up since way too early.  Hope none of you lost branches or had awful drives in today.

News, The Daily Feed
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Ceremonial Dirt at CityCenter

Ceremonial Dirt at CityCenter
Photo by Sylvia Brown, used with Permission

There’s nothing I miss about the old convention center.  It made Moscone Center’s North and South halls feel airy and light, and the exterior was deeply ugly and unfriendly.  I cheered loudly when they imploded it back in 2005.  The site has been a parking lot, a bus station and a tennis court since then, but today the formal construction process for a new multiblock development on H Street between 9th and 11th got underway today with a ceremony at the site.

Of course, since the whole surface is asphalt, and while construction has actually started, they had to truck in the dirt so that they council could demonstrate their digging skills. I’m not sure why this still has to happen, other than the ridiculous photo op, but here we are.

The development is fairly substantial, covering 10 acres on the eastern end of the downtown, with a $700M financing package courtesy of the Qatari Diar Investment Fund, a part of the Qatari sovereign wealth fund. The move is the first for the QDIF in the US, which also has a stake in the new Shard building in London.

News, The Daily Feed
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Weaver willing to do the Dirty Jobs according to video

Photo courtesy of
‘Cup cake eating contest – Columbia Heights Day 001’
courtesy of ‘squidpants’

So far, from the advertising perspective, the At-Large campaign has been pretty bland. Lots of standard fare all the way around. Some have been upset by campaign ads near editorial material, in the Current newspapers for example, but overall the content of the ads is nothing to write home about. Trite sayings, promises that are rarely backed up, and logos that aren’t exactly inspiring.

That’s no surprise, though, as campaigns generally aren’t won or lost on logo design or ad placement, they’re won and lost on numbers. Stuck with a money deficit and an attention deficit as many reporters and pundits call this a Biddle vs. Orange race, Bryan Weaver has put out a campaign video spoofing the material done by Mike Rowe’s Dirty Jobs television show. It’s a pretty entertaining watch. It’s after the cut. Continue reading →