Monthly Archives: November 2011

Sports Fix
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Redskins Preview Week Eleven: The Cowboys

Photo courtesy of
‘appropriate for dallas weekâ�¦’
courtesy of ‘dharmabumx’

The first game this season between the Redskins and the Cowboys was a defensive match-up won by the Cowboys in the fourth quarter. The Redskins had the lead for most of the game and were able to apply constant pressure to the Cowboys defense for most of the game, but in the end the Cowboys defense adjusted and stopped the Redskins. A lot has changed since that time. Santana Moss, Chris Cooley, Kory Lichtensteiger, and Tim Hightower are now all hurt. Rex Grossman lost his job to John Beck and then won it back when John Beck turned out to be a less aggressive version of Rex Grossman (all of the turnovers with none of the down field passes).

The Cowboys have had issues of their own. One week the offense looks dynamic picking apart the other team’s defense and then the next Tony Romo can’t do much of anything but have a fourth quarter meltdown. The strength of the Cowboys is their defense. They have allowed the tenth fewest points per game at 20.2 and the ninth fewest yards a game at 327.8. The Redskins defense has allowed slightly fewer points per game at 19.8 and slightly more yards a game at 337.1.

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Dupont Circle, Real World DC, The Features, Tourism
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Laogai Museum – A Dupont Detour

Photo courtesy of
‘Laogai Museum 4’
courtesy of ‘jcm_DC’

The Laogai Museum may be small, but it packs a punch. Tucked away in the old Real World DC house off Dupont Circle, its one-floor exhibit explores the dark underbelly of Chinese labor camps and human rights policies.

“Laogai” means “reform through labor” and refers to oppressive tactics the museum claims China has used to punish political prisoners since 1949. Harry Wu, a survivor of the Laogai camps, founded the museum in 2008 as part of the larger Laogai Research Foundation. The museum moved into its current location last April, where they now offer free admission and guided tours.

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Free Beer Tastings at Acqua al 2

Courtesy of ThreeLockharts Public Relations

So many things, all wonderful and joyous, come to mind when I think of beer. So what better way to ease back into your week after Thanksgiving with some complimentary beer tastings?

Acqua Al 2 in Eastern Market is kicking off their new beer program with a week of free Italian craft beer tastings at the bar from 5:30 PM til 7 PM on November 28th til December 1st. Acqua Al 2 has more than 13 Italian microbrews available by bottle or on draft, including Moretti, Torbatta, Strada San Felice and more.

If one week isn’t enough, you can make a reservation for their Italian Craft Beer Dinner on December 5th at 7 PM. To secure a spot at the dinner, call the restaurant at 202-525-4375 or email Ralph at ralph@acquaal2dc.com.

Cheers, everyone.

News, The Daily Feed
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United’s Dwayne De Rosario named MVP

This morning, midfielder Dwayne De Rosario became D.C. United’s fourth league-wide MVP in franchise history, and their third in six years. “De Ro” as he’s known to United’s fans, was a shot in the arm for the struggling club when he was acquired from the New York Red Bulls in June, and in 18 games, scored 13 goals and had seven assists. Across three clubs, De Rosario had 16 goals and 12 assists on the season and became the first MVP in North American sports to score with three separate teams in a season.

While some would say that no player that didn’t lead his team to (and perhaps through) the playoffs would deserve that honor, anyone who saw United before De Ro and after, would disagree. De Ro was the field captain that United needed to make a playoff push, and push they did, right up until the end. De Rosario is under contract through the end of next season, though it’s expected they’re rework the deal to keep De Ro well past that mark.

Congratulations, De Ro!

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Caps Continue Slide in Loss to Jets

Photo courtesy of
‘Boudreau Does Not Like the Call’
courtesy of ‘clydeorama’

Winnipeg Jets winger Evander Kane scored twice against Caps goalie Michal Neuvirth and shut down captain Alexander Ovechkin en route to a 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals in Manitoba, Canada.

The good:

  • Alexander Semin scored the lone Caps tally early in the first period.

…and that’s about it.

The bad:

  • The Caps blew a 59 second 5-on-3 power play in the second period that could have turned things around after the Jets’ scoring spurt that saw three goals in just under five minutes.
  • Ovechkin had five shots on the night but remained scoreless for the third consecutive game. His current season tally of 7 goals, 14 points is a career low after 17 total games.
  • The third period was insipid.

The quote:
“The best way to slow it down is to score a goal,” said coach Bruce Boudreau. “The best way to stop a crowd from cheering is to not making stupid mistakes in your own zone and giving them opportunities to score.”

News, The Daily Feed
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Key Bridge Occupied without incident

Photo courtesy of
‘Occupy McPhearson Square’
courtesy of ‘MrStinkhead’

While hundreds were arrested in New York and Philadelphia today, and other cities also saw arrests, DC was a bright spot for the Occupy movement, with a significant march from McPherson Square to the Key Bridge through Georgetown. MPD escorted the protestors through the streets without incident, and ensured that the marchers stayed on the sidewalk as they arrived at the bridge.

DCist’s Martin Austermuhle was in attendance, as was local political pundit Chuck Thies, each have their take on the effectiveness of the group as a whole, and the protest, but one group earned high marks for their work today, and that was MPD, who escorted the protest without incident.

Downtown, Entertainment, The Daily Feed
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Gaia Returns to the Corcoran on Saturday

Photo courtesy of
‘Turntables’
courtesy of ‘oparrish’

On November 19th, Gaia will make a triumphant return to the Corcoran after a sold-out party held there over the summer. This evening of music, visual and performance art – even a bit of magic – is sure to please anybody looking for an arty alternative to the usual nightclub experience.

For one night, the D.C.-based Gaia collective of DJs, musicians, artists, dancers, and more will take over the Corcoran space to create an interactive, multimedia experience which actively engages with the visual art on display in the gallery and the architecture of the building itself.
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We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends – November 18-20

Photo courtesy of
‘Bloomingdale’
courtesy of ‘Pappa91’

Tom: Weekend! And it’s a really big weekend. We’re picking up a whole tasty lamb at the Bloomingdale Farmers Market on Sunday morning, just in time for Thanksgiving. Add to that a brined turkey we’re grabbing later in the week. This is going to be a meatacular week. Add into that the final week of the 2-for-1 sale at Great Country Farms and you’ve got a fresh-and-local way to put some extra boost into your holidays. I’m stoked.

Mosley: After a week on the road for work, I am certainly looking forward to a slow weekend.  Saturday has a demonstration of falconry at the National Geographic Museum; it’s connected to the Anglo-Saxon Golden Hoard exhibit.  I love birds!  Also on Saturday is a walk-through of Cardoza High School; it’s to give people a chance to see the school before it undergoes renovations.  I’ve never seen Cardoza and it sounds like it will be a great chance to see the school and get a sense of it’s history.  Finally, on Sunday I’m thinking of going by the National Building Museum and seeing the new exhibit Unbuilt Washington.  It opens this weekend and it looks like it will be a fascinating tour of what wasn’t built in DC.

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Dupont Circle, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Capital City Ball

Photo courtesy of
‘Focus’
courtesy of ‘theqspeaks’

Since moving to DC, I’ve been wanting to play a socialite a la Real Housewives, but every time the opportunity arises my limo’s in the shop and my bank account is empty. Sigh.

If you face the same problem, why not check out the Capital City Ball this Saturday night? For $150 you get an open bar, heavy hors d’oeuvres, and a dance floor for the evening at The Washington Club. Not a bad deal.

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Downtown, Penn Quarter, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Stalin’s Spies: an ISM Event

Photo courtesy of
‘The Secret’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’

This Friday at 4:30 pm, the International Spy Museum, in cooperation with the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies, is hosting an event on Stalin-era espionage. The free event includes the opportunity to view unique artifacts from the life of one of the Soviet Union’s most famous spies, Dmitri Bystrolyotov, as well as a chance to interact with the Museum’s historians and several panel experts.

Dmitri was the Soviet Union’s real life James Bond, earning a reputation as one of the greatest Soviet Spies of all time. He was a sailor, doctor, lawyer and artist recruited by Stalin for his dashing good looks and ease with languages to seduce secrets from willing targets during the 1920s and 30s. However, after falling out of Stalin’s favor, Dmitri was sentenced to the Gulag for 16 years.

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Sports Fix
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Bryce Harper’s Arizona Domination a Step Towards the Majors

Photo courtesy of
‘Bryce Harper’
courtesy of ‘SportsAngle.com’

The ball was hit at just the right trajectory to cause problems. It should have been a standard F8 settled under early and caught with relative ease in left-center field, but it was hit at just the right trajectory. The centerfielder raced to his right and Harper raced to his left. The centerfield held out his hand as a sign that Harper should stop as he settled to where the ball should soon come to rest in his glove, but the ball hung up, and then the sun played its first trick. The centerfielder threw his hands in the air giving the universal sign for, “I lost it.” Harper started to come in for the ball, but soon the centerfielder recovered and relocated the ball and called Harper off again. As soon as the centerfielder resettled he again threw his hands in the air and Harper ran in for the ball. By this time it was too late to settle under it for the routine catch and Harper stabbed at it like a line drive. The ball nicked off his glove and fell harmfully to the ground as the batter raced around first on his way to second.

Roaming the outfield is not Bryce Harper’s natural habitat. Harper still has trouble reading the ball off the bat and sometimes ends up taking bad routes on balls. The missed catch with the sun playing tricks wasn’t Harper’s only missed catch in the three games I watched him play. When someone sees Harper on the baseball field they are seeing him where he belongs. He has the work ethic and the dedication to learn the outfield. It is hard to miss Harper’s big truck in the players’ parking lot, and it is always one of the first vehicles parked. He is committed to making himself the best baseball player he can be, and if learning the outfield is the last step before the majors then Harper is going to learn the outfield.

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Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Features, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Thanksgiving 2011 Roundup

Roast Turkey

Roast Turkey
Courtesy of tbridge

You’ve been fighting off a cold. You burned last year’s turkey. You’re feeding far too many relatives than you can count on your fingers and toes. Whatever the reason may be for why you won’t be cooking this year’s Thanksgiving feast, we’ve got you covered with a handy list of what restaurants are offering for Thanksgiving. So take the apron and oven mitts off and relish in the fact that you can watch all the Macy’s Day Parade and football you want come turkey day.

Read the full list after the jump.
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Music
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The Winning Ticket: Super Diamond

This week we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Super Diamond at the 9:30 Club on November 19th. Tickets for this concert are available on Ticketfly or at the 9:30 Club box office.

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 your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 5pm today. One entry per email address, please. Comments will be closed at 5pm and a winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be notified by email. The winner must respond to our email within two hours or they will forfeit their tickets and we will pick another winner.

Tickets will be available to the winner at the 9:30 Club Guest List window one hour before doors open on the night of the concert. The tickets must be claimed with a valid ID. The winner must be old enough to attend the specific concert or must have a parent’s permission to enter if they are under 18 years old.

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Caps Stumble, Lose to Predators

Photo courtesy of
‘Russia vs. Czech Republic’
courtesy of ‘s.yume’

A beat-up Capitals squad hit Nashville last night and stumbled out with a 3-1 loss to the Predators. Don’t let the score fool you; the game remained scoreless for over 55 minutes. Early in the third, Troy Brouwer wristed a perfectly-placed cross-ice pass from Marcus Johansson past Preds goalie Pekka Rinne and the game looked like it would finally break open in the Caps favor. Thirty seconds later, Martin Erat solved Tomas Vokun and it went downhill from there. Colin Wilson’s game-winning goal came with less than 30 seconds on the clock, and Shea Weber’s empty netter five seconds later was the nail sealing the coffin.

The good:

  • Tomas Vokoun was stellar for most of the evening. Stopping 28 of 30 shots, he was in top form with some specatular saves.
  • The Caps second line (Jason Chimera, Brooks Laich, Alexander Semin) accounted for 14 of the Caps 40 shots.
  • Marcus Johansson and Cody Eakin continue to shine on the third line.

The bad:

  • The power play went 0-for-3; the team has the 7th-best power play in the league.
  • The Caps are now 1-3-1 in their last 5 and 3-5-1 since their red-hot start.
  • The team dominated through two solid periods but once Brouwer’s goal tallied in, it seemed like there was a complete shift in tone. Erat’s tying goal came when the Caps thought there was an offsides but with no whistle, the Predators played on. As a result, Erat scored. The Caps never seemed to recover from that momentary lapse and the Preds made the most of it.

The quote:
“I think guys are as upset as I’ve seen,” said Mike Knuble. “That was frustrating. We really battled to get that lead. They tied it right away, but the least we should have done was force overtime.”

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Beertown


Photo by Clinton Brandhagen

When I asked a friend of mine if he wanted to come see Dog and Pony DC’s production of Beertown with me he replied, “No thanks- it doesn’t look like my type of thing.”

He’s right- if you expect to simply sit quietly through a show then Beertown isn’t for you.

However if you are ready to partake in a potluck dessert spread, slap on a nametag, and participate in some rousing discussion then I cannot recommend Beertown enough.

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