Monthly Archives: August 2011

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nationals drop heartbreakers to Reds, 2-1

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_3791’
courtesy of ‘photopete’

The Nationals couldn’t deliver any of their 5 runners in scoring position on Wednesday night against Johnny Cueto and the Reds, and they let Ross Detwiler’s best start in recent memory get written into the books as a loss.  The Nationals got their only run on a 400-foot bomb by Ryan Zimmerman to start the eighth, but couldn’t capitalize any further than that, despite having the bases loaded with one out in the ninth against the Reds’ Cordero.

A few close calls might have been the difference in the game for the Nationals.  First base umpire Ed Rapuano saw things a bit differently than the rest of Nationals Park on a couple occasions, leading us to wonder if the old “tie goes to the runner” adage held true, or even held consistnt between innings.

The Nationals did their best to keep themselves in the game, and the 9th inning rally didn’t disappoint, until Wilson Ramos swung at the first pitch and found himself in a  6-4-3 double play to end the threat and the game.

 

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Food and Drink
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First Look: Lavagna

lav 001

Verdict: Great spirit and potential; a work in progress

Earlier this year when I heard Starfish was closing, I couldn’t have been happier. In its place is Lavagna, an Italian restaurant that takes its name from a fishing port city in Italy and also means blackboard in the romance language. I’m always a fan of the chalkboard theme, so plus for sure.

Walking in was interesting, you could almost see Starfish, but not. Gone was the bar to your right, replaced by a service bar further left. The exposed wall looked even better, adding to that rustic feel.

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The Daily Feed
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SlutWalk DC is over but the discussion continues

No, not in the comments of our last post, though Zesty and I are having a rousing back-and-forth over there. At the American Association of University Women, tomorrow night. It’s free and open to the public – simply register online. SlutWalk organizers, critics, and others will be on a panel to talk about the event and take questions and have discussion. It would be nice if it wasn’t just an echo chamber of folks who are already active in the subject area so if you’re interested, come out.

6pm Aug 17th, AAUW, 16th and L Streets NW

Sports Fix
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Homestand Preview: August 16 – 25

Photo courtesy of
‘$5 Nats Ticket’
courtesy of ‘MudflapDC’

There are just two long homestands remaining in 2011, and just 26 home games between now and the end of the season. While the Nationals aren’t in the midst of a playoff hunt, there are still a lot of good reasons to head out to the ballpark before the end of the season.

Highlights

This homestand should be interesting for a couple reasons. First has everything to do with the draft last night. The Nationals signed all of their last five draft picks last night in a flurry of late-night activity, and there’s a decent chance some of these guys will come to DC to meet with the team. Last year, we saw Robbie Ray make a surprise visit to the Nationals shortly after the draft. It’s possible we might see Anthony Rendon or Alex Meyer or Kylin Turnbull or Matt Purke here in Washington this home stand.

In addition, we’re coming to the end of Jordan Zimmermann’s season, as he’s hitting his innings limit soon. Recovery from Tommy John surgery is a long process, and with 145 IP already on the books this season, he’s coming rapidly up on the 160 IP total that the club is rumored to have for him. With two starts for him likely on this home stand, if you want to see him this season, you’d better be out at Nats Park on Thursday night or Monday next.

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Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Sunset on the Potomac
‘Sunset on the Potomac’ by specimenlife

It’s difficult to capture the vastness of nature through photography. A track of mountains or an ocean stretching infinitely on the horizon are unquestionably photogenic, but the challenge lays in conveying the scale before you. In the case of specimenlife’s photograph, a wandering cloud finds several points of scale to remind the viewer just how big they actually are. Land, air, and sea are all dwarfed. Clouds are so present in our daily lives that we only think twice about them if they pose a threat to our outdoor activities or commute, but specimenlife turns this ordinary occurrence to the extraordinary. His compelling colors and strong composition keep your eye moving around the photograph. The lines the sun draws through the cloud and along the sky leave one in awe of the majesty of nature.

All Politics is Local, Life in the Capital, The Mall
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Why are all these people talking about walking sluts?

Photo courtesy of
‘SlutWalk Tampere 6.8.2011’
courtesy of ‘Kulttuurikahvila Hertta’

There’s been a few news tweets about the SlutWalk that happened this weekend and unsurprisingly several of them – maybe most – have touted photos. I’m not condemning that – I like looking at provocatively dressed women myself. But don’t miss the very serious reason it’s called SlutWalk and involves protesting while scantily-clad: to combat a perception that dressing a certain way is in any way permission or a valid reason for other people to use your body against your will.

If that seems implausible in 2011, well, the whole impetus for this now nation-wide and multi-country phenomenon was the somewhat astonishing statement from a Canadian officer of the law during a lecture on health and safety.

“You know, I think we’re beating around the bush here,” he reportedly told them. “I’ve been told I’m not supposed to say this – however, women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised.”

I’m (sadly) not surprised that someone would say a version of “If you wear that skirt you’re just asking to be raped,” but I can’t say I expected to hear it from a police officer.

Holly Kearle writes very eloquently here about the point of SlutWalk and why she participated. She’s also the force behind the excellent Stop Street Harassment blog. If you’ve got the time to look at some skin you’ve got the time to read what she wrote about this event. I’d encourage you to keep up with the SSH blog as well.

It’s easy for us men to be blind to the reality of the million little shitty things that happen to women in our society – we’re not the target of the harassment. We might not ever see it going on, but it does. Constantly. Take ten seconds at Holla Back DC and see the sort of unbelievable crap that happens all the time, ranging from crappy inappropriate talk about mustache rides to stalking and physically threatening behavior against a fifteen year old girl.

SlutWalk might not be how you want to confront this sort of thing in our society – Holla Back DC’s Chai Shenoy didn’t feel like it was a productive thing for her – but the women who stood up and told their fellow DC residents that how they look or dress isn’t cause to mistreat them have good cause to think making the statement is necessary. Make their sacrifice of their time worthwhile and look past just the pictures.

The Daily Feed
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Food Truck Beer Dinner

Food Truck Beer Dinner at Das Bullpen, 8/27 for $75

Wow, this hits all of my core competencies: Food Trucks, Beer Dinners and Baseball.  Das Bullpen will be hosting a 3-hour beer dinner on August 27th with Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head breweries, as well as the tasty deliciousness of Cap Mac, Porcmobile, Stix, Hula Girl, Doug the Food Dude, and Eat Wonky.  Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head will also have Life and Limb, their co-operative brew, on taps all night.

Tickets are $75, and benefit Living Classrooms, which provides hands-on job training programs for those who need them most. Get your tickets early, I’m better this is going to sell out.

Food and Drink, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Willard’s BBQ

Willard's

“You just can’t get barbecue up here like you can down there,” I used to tell all my friends back home in North Carolina. That was before I met Willard’s. Way, way the hell out there in the suburbs near Dulles, Willard’s BBQ is what happens when Lexington, North Carolina transports itself right to Virginia. And for a Carolina Girl, that means Willard’s tastes just like home.

Ya’ll, they’ve got the pulled pork. They have the ribs, the brisket, the chicken, the catfish. Everything you’ve been craving, Willard’s has it all. And lord, is it done right. Continue reading →

Technology
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Parkmobile’s Parking App: Not so bad, but not great

Parking Meters with Parkmobile

When it was announced earlier this year that DDOT would be accepting mobile payments through Parkmobile, I was pretty excited. I spend a lot of my time driving around DC, and while I was often parking on the street, I was often stopping at the bank  for a couple rolls of quarters.  By the end of the week, when I was running out, I’d often ration my quarters and find myself the winner of a shiny blue parking ticket from DCDPW.

Parkmobile picked up a pair of zones in the early pilot programs in neighborhoods that I found myself in regularly, and I was primarily using their call-in service to handle my parking. When they went citywide, I downloaded their iPhone app, which was both great, and not-so-great all at once.

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Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 8/13-8/14

Moonrise
‘Moonrise’ by pablo.raw

My blood is too thick for this humidity: my mind boils, I rant and rave, and I’m unable to properly explain myself. And I channel Hunter S. Thompson. I moved to DC before I knew what the summers were like; heatwave or not, I boil like a potato in this climate. But everyone who loves hanging idly around a swamp going to fairs and farmers markets, let’s reminisce. Welcome to yesterday, DC. And the day before. And Friday, when the Redskins started back up and squashed the Steelers in their first preseason game. Busy weekend around town – let’s do this thing!
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News, The Daily Feed
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Metro struggles in storm aftermath

Metro Backup at Braddock Road

Photo by Gordon Withers, special to We Love DC

About 10:30 last night, as I was getting ready for bed, the heavens were rent asunder, and the entirety of a swimming pool was dumped on my back yard. For the next 30 minutes or so, the storm was without pause. Across town on Twitter, the storm was met with universal awe.

Somehow, WMATA didn’t notice.

This morning, the tunnels between Braddock Road Metro and National Airport were still flooded with the results of last night’s deluge, and as of 8:45am this morning, the pumps were still in action, struggling to deal with the load. Service between the two stations was interrupted, and only at 6:20am was shuttle service listed as being “requested” by Metro.

The situation at Braddock Road, as crowds waited for the shuttle buses, is a commuting disaster, where hundreds are waiting for shuttles to bridge the gap.

Metro’s going to take a beating today if they can’t get ahead of the frustration with today’s situation. The storms were mostly east of I-95 by 11pm last night, but the 2-3″ that that strong cell brought with it seem to have been missed by all of Metro’s staff, leaving the delays to be found the next day when trains approached the tunnels.  How that was missed, well, I just don’t know.

The Daily Feed
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Friday Happy Hour: GNR Lies

One of my favorite things about Room 11 is the taste of the folks behind the bar. On any given evening, there are only a couple of featured cocktails, but they are consistently interesting (as are the wine selections which take prominence on the menu). Wednesday evening, as they celebrated their second anniversary in business, was no exception. There was special strawberry-allspice birthday punch. And, painted on the window, the GNR Lies.

The GNR Lies turns out to be very nearly my spirit drink.
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Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Will Artley of Evening Star Cafe (Part 2)

Photo courtesy of
‘Chopping tomatoes’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’

It’s summertime and if you look around, you’ll notice that tomatoes are ripe and abundant. They’re in salads, they’re on sandwiches, they’re in your gazpacho. They’re everywhere! So here’s a recipe for something a little different from Will Artley: a tomato jam. The chef suggests serving it on scallops, on toast, and I think it would even go quite well on some roasted chicken. Plus, if you are a little more advanced, you can can the jam and have it last for months. Click through to find the full recipe.

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