Yearly Archives: 2011

Foggy Bottom, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: 30 Americans at Corcoran Gallery of Art

Kehinde Wiley, Sleep, 2008. Oil on canvas, 132 x 300 inches. Courtesy of Rubell Family Collection, Miami.


At Tuesday night’s preview of 30 Americans, a representative of the Corcoran told the story of how, in 1940, a young, female, African-American artist secretly entered a contest held by the gallery, sending a white friend to drop off the painting because she feared she would not be allowed past the building’s grand front stairs because of the color of her skin. Lois Mailou Jones won the contest and had the prize mailed to her so she would never have to show her face.

Seventy-one years later, Ms. Jones’ painting is held in the Corcoran’s permanent collection and the gallery is hosting a powerful exhibit of contemporary African-American artists which has already generated tremendous excitement in advance of the October 1st public opening.

One of the most-anticipated openings hitting the walls of DC galleries (in a season that is proving to be crowded with buzzed-over exhibits), 30 Americans brings together three decades of influential African-American artists, both household name and lesser-known, in a variety of media. The principle by which they are organized is that all seventy-six works on display (by, in fact, thirty-one American artists) grapple with the concept of identity – particularly but not exclusively race – in modern American life.
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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Mad Forest

Photo by Melissa Blackall

Entering Caryl Churchill’s "Mad Forest" is a step back into late 80’s Europe during the final years of the Cold War. Forum Theatre sets the mood just right. Pillars with busts of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the Communist leader of Romania, loom over the action like big brother. Drab fashions and chain smoking Romanians is reminiscent of a not-too-bygone era. Director Michael Dove spares no expense to create an authentic atmosphere for the show, enlisting the help of local actor Dan Istrate, a Romanian who was there during those historic days. His consultation gives the production a clear authenticity through dialects and mannerisms. If one thing is for certain, Mad Forest will take you into the poverty, oppression, and unrest of Bucharest in 1989.

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Trouble in Mind

E. Faye Butler as Wiletta Mayer in the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater production of Trouble in Mind. Photo by Richard Anderson.

If there’s a theme emerging from this year’s theater offerings it’s definitely the play-within-a-play. From Venus in Fur to The Habit of Art, many recent productions have highlighted the rehearsal process itself to uncover uncomfortable truths about power and control. These are all relatively new plays riffing on an old theme, but Trouble in Mind, the 1955 play now on stage at Arena, seems just as fresh. Written by Alice Childress to blow the proverbial lid off racism in the theater of her time, it’s eeriely (and sadly) still relevant. I wasn’t expecting the play to seem so current, but its sharp eye exposes not only racism but sexism and ageism as well. You wouldn’t think a social drama could be a comedy either, but this one’s wit can be deadly and hilarious.

Reading the story of Childress’s struggle with Broadway producers over rewrites is infuriating enough. Watching her character Wiletta Mayer (E. Faye Butler) suffer the patronizing forehead kisses of her director and detail the indignities of having to be grateful to play Mammy roles just drives the discomfort home. Butler’s performance is the touchstone of this production – the war between Wiletta’s ambition to be an acclaimed actress and the betrayal of her integrity carries a constant electric charge.

That Arena, one of the first theaters to integrate black and white actors, is staging a play about an integrated cast, just adds to the frisson. But the weight of history, especially in the District, doesn’t make this a museum piece.
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Sports Fix
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Cowboys defeat Redskins 18-16

Photo courtesy of
‘Tim Hightower’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

Last night the Redskins lost their first game of the season in a dramatic defensive battle between two of the biggest rivals in sports. Depending on the narrative a person went into the game with that is likely to be the story they spin out of the game, and while Grossman is not a good quarterback, Tony Romo did just enough to win with a broken rib, and the two defenses battled down to the wire this isn’t a simple game to diagnose.

While Tony Romo is being lavished with praise this week about how he is a wounded warrior with an enlarged heart Rex Grossman is going to be killed on talk radio, but Grossman passed 37 times and completed 22 of those attempts for 250 yards with one TD and one INT while Romo passed 36 times completing 22 for 255 yards and an INT. Grossman did have the fumble at the end of the game, but when Romo has been in that situation in the past he has done the same thing. The two quarterbacks had comparable games, but one team won and the other lost and that makes one a hero and the other the goat.

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History, The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
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Smithsonian Snapshot: Skyhooking

Skyhook container; photo courtesy National Postal Museum

In the 1930s, U.S. postal officials tried different ways of moving the mail. One technique was called “skyhooking,” which brought the mail to rural towns that had no adequate railway or highway mail routes. Unfortunately, the towns which needed this type of service usually did not have adequate landing fields for planes.

Although a low-flying airplane could simply drop a sack of mail onto the ground, the tricky part was getting ground mail into the moving plane. The Railway Mail Service’s successful on-the-fly mail exchange system provided the inspiration for an aviation experiment. Mail would be “caught” by a plane flying overhead and reeled up into the plane. Of course, catching the mail was not going to be easy. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Photo Op: Scaling the Washington Monument

Photo courtesy of
‘Washington Monument closed indefinitely after rare earthquake’
courtesy of ‘Glyn Lowe Photos’

While the Washington Monument is closed indefinitely due to damage from the Earthquake, that doesn’t mean there won’t be some awesome photo ops this week as a “Difficult Access” team rappels down the side of the 555-foot tall obelisk to inspect the damage. That will mean the group will climb out the little windows at the top, climb up to the tip of the monument, and then slowly rappel down the side to check for cracks and damage. It’s estimated that the inspection will take the team five days to do the inspection, so once they’re spotted, you should have time to rent some long glass and head down to the Mall!

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of
‘windows are my floor’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

I’m fascinated by window washers. Every time I see them setting up at building downtown, I just want to stop and watch them work. I think it’s the combination of being gusty enough to trust your life to a rather thin piece of rope while also having a unique “office” view. The suction cups they use also remind me of 1960s Batman.

So imagine how I feel about Phil’s photo above. Take one part unique perspective, add the mystique of window washers, and then throw in the blown out highlights of the sky; you get one great shot.

Sports Fix
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Redskins Preview Week 3: The Dallas Cowboys

Photo courtesy of
‘Cardinals5’
courtesy of ‘Homer McFanboy’

Tony Romo has banged up ribs and if he plays DeAngelo Hall will be aiming for them. Felix Jones has an injured shoulder and if he plays DeAngelo Hall will be aiming for that as well. I can’t decide if what Hall said this past week is bad or simply stating the obvious. If an injured player plays and that injury is known then players on the other team are going to be looking to exploit it as a weakness. It is just the way football works, but this is a big rivalry and everything is magnified.

In 2010 both the Redskins and the Cowboys finished with 6-10 records. The Cowboys got rid of coach Wade Phillips late in the season and replaced him with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett while the Redskins choose to get rid of 26 players. Among the players the Redskins rid themselves of were aging and under-performing veterans who were replaced with younger players better suited to Mike Shanahan’s system. The Cowboys came into 2011 thought of as a contender for the NFC wildcard while the Redskins were thought to be nothing but a contender for Andrew Luck.

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Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 9/23-9/25

Photo courtesy of
‘Fist-bumpin Mayor’
courtesy of ‘slightlyworn’

The last week of September is upon us. For me, this has always signaled the true end of summer. Last bout of muggy, humid weather; baseball is heading into the playoffs; the football season is in full swing; and the days are ending much too quickly. Yep, the summer is ending. Well, at least we have cooler weather and good harvest foods to look forward to! Oh, and some fascinating light in our group’s photo pool. Come, take a look! Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
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A Shutout Win, And A Glimpse Of The Future?

Photo courtesy of
‘Win!’
courtesy of ‘oddlittlebird.’

On a warm Sunday afternoon on the final weekend of September, the Washington Nationals shut out a division opponent in a game with major playoff implications. The starting pitcher, a high draft pick and source of occasional frustration, pitched six shutout innings; Washington’s best offensive player smashed a two-run home run to break the game open in the late innings; and the team’s sterling bullpen pitched three perfect innings to secure the win.

OK, so the only team who had their playoff chances affected was the hapless Atlanta Braves, for whom the 3-0 loss was their 15th of the month of September. Atlanta’s lackluster performance, combined with the St. Louis Cardinals’ 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs, cut the Braves’ lead in the National League wild card race down to a single game with three still to play. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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As the season wanes, Nationals continue strong, beat Braves 4-1

 

Photo courtesy of
‘win’
courtesy of ‘oddlittlebird.’

When this season started, I thought the Nationals might well win about 72 games this year. An improvement over last year’s tally of 69, but hardly a big step forward. With four games remaining, the Nationals are 77-80, still in reach of .500 ball. The Nationals are 14-9 in September, their best span of the second half, and have been playing meaningful baseball in September for the first time since 2005. While winning out isn’t a given, with Atlanta playing for their lives, and the dominance of the Marlins over the Nats, it’s still a distinct possibility that this team could finish at 81-80.

Today’s victory over the Braves can largely be placed in the hands of the battery, with Chien Ming Wang throwing 6 strong innings and limiting the Braves to a single run, and Pudge Rodriguez’s eighth inning rally-killing theft-prevention throwout of Michael Bourn. The veteran catcher’s final home start of the year (and possibly in a Nationals uniform) was certainly one of his more memorable ones, calling a phenomenal game against the very tough Braves offense, and nabbing two runners on the basepaths, as well going 1-2 with a walk.

After the game, manager Davey Johnson was very complimentary of both. Of Wang, he said, “[he had] a remarkable season, got better every time out… If I’m here [next year] he can have my salary. If you’d seen him throw in December, and where he is right now, my hat goes off to him.” Regarding his catcher, Johnson was praising of his training routine (5 hours a day, 7 days a week), and gave no thought to pulling Pudge early for a standing ovation.

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Adams Morgan, Food and Drink, The Features, We Love Drinks
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Drinks Special: Cocktails at Jack Rose

Photo courtesy of
‘Mai Tai at Jack Rose’s Tiki bar’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

Jack Rose Dining Saloon has been opening in stages, overlooking the seemingly interminable construction at the intersection of 18th Street and Florida Avenue NW. Now that the dust is finally clearing from the brand new sidewalk outside, its long-awaited dinner menu has debuted as well and is being served seven nights a week in the downstairs dining room and bar. The upstairs patio has been in full swing for most of the summer and is due to continue the grilling and swilling through the fall, including a Tiki bar on the back porch that served me up some killer classics two weeks ago when I visited for the official debut of the downstairs menu.

The key visual of Jack Rose is certainly its downstairs dining room’s wall of scotches, bourbons and spirits – 1400 bottles lining the bar in bookcases of booze. Between liquor, wine and beer the catalog of offerings can be a bit staggering, but the elegant room invites relaxed sifting through the menu while sipping some Ardbeg at the long bar, watching bartenders climb up ladders library-style to fetch bottles. Turn a corner at Jack Rose and the atmosphere can instantly change – every space here has its own feel, so give yourself some wandering time before deciding where you’d like to perch for a while.

Upstairs is divided into several sections, including a front balcony overlooking 18th Street off a small lounge bar complete with fireplace, the main open-air deck with a wood-fire grill and bar, and the small back bar that’s slowly turning into a Tiki spot. I started back there and almost never left, as a friend sipped a perfect Painkiller. After watching the moon rise off the back porch with a classic Mai Tai (orgeat syrup? yes please!) it was time to head downstairs and sample some whiskey cocktails from the excellent selection crafted by Rachel Sergi. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
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Strasburg Stumbles, Nats Bumped Off By Braves

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_8416’

courtesy of ‘NDwas’
Now that Stephen Strasburg has made a full recovery from Tommy John surgery, all that’s left for fans of the Washington Nationals to hope for is that his starts in 2012 go a lot better than his start on Friday night, when Strasburg’s disastrous first inning turned out to be the difference in a 7-4 loss to the playoff-chasing Atlanta Braves (89-68).

The start was officially delayed by 14 minutes while the field was given extra time to recover from the day-long rains that soaked the District. Whether it was this minor disruption of routine or the generally damp and humid conditions that affected Strasburg is not clear. However, he had trouble locating the strike zone in a 38-pitch first inning, and when either his four-seam or two-seam fastball did find the zone, it was carted all over the Nationals Park outfield.

After Strasburg struck out Michael Bourn on a changeup to lead off the game, Martin Prado lined a single off the glove of Danny Espinosa. Chipper Jones followed by pulling a two-seam fastball into right field on a full count, sending Prado to third. Dan Uggla fisted another four-seam fastball into center field to score Prado, the game’s first run. After Brian McCann swung through a 97-mile-an-hour fastball, Freddie Freeman doubled Atlanta’s advantage by singling to right before Jack Wilson pulled a ground ball that should have gone straight into Ryan Zimmerman’s glove and ended the inning. However, the ball took a fat hop, nicked the heel of Zimmerman’s glove, and bounced to left field as Uggla crossed the plate to make it 3-0. Strasburg managed to retire Jason Heyward to end the inning, but the out came in the form of a 395-foot fly ball that drove Rick Ankiel to the warning track in dead center field and nearly ended the competitive portion of the game right then and there.

Strasburg retired 9 of the next 10 batters and exited after the 4th inning with the Nationals trailing 3-1 thanks to an RBI single by Wilson Ramos in the second inning. However, Washington’s middle relief let them down. In particular, Collin Balester, who relieved Strasburg, made his predecessor’s performance seem masterful. Davey Johnson, trying to prolong his team’s five-game winning streak, pulled Balester after three batters and brought in Atahualpa Severino, who allowed both of his inherited runners to score on a double by Uggla, who came around himself on an RBI double by McCann.
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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Friday Happy Hour: Maple Derby at Black Jack

After what seemed like an extended “coming soon” period, followed by a week or so of soft-opening, 14th Street’s new Pearl Dive Oyster Bar is officially open, as is the upstairs bar, Black Jack.

Black Jack is designed to be a fun, casual spot – complete with that buzzed-about indoor bocce pitch. They have a nice selection of whiskeys behind the bar and a short list of signature cocktails, two of which come out of a slushie machine. There are colorful lights strung from the ceiling to give a suggestion of being outdoors on a cool patio.

If you are getting the impression that they just crammed every bar trend into one place, you might be on to something. However, the staff are nice, the crowd seemed fine and surprisingly, not-crowded – and based on what I have sampled, the drinks are tasty.
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Food and Drink, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Veggies Take Over at This Saturday’s DC VegFest

On September 24, from 11am to 6pm, DC VegFest will showcase ease, fun, and advantages of a plant-based lifestyle at GWU’s University Yard. This annual event, now in its third year, has grown significantly in size – it is the area’s largest vegetarian event with thousands of attendees expected.

Those attendees will have the opportunity to purchase foods from nineteen local restaurants and food trucks, shop from animal-friendly vendors, and take in talks from speakers like chef and cookbook author Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Wayne Pacelle of The Humane Society. There will be free food to sample from national brands and Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats has organized a cupcake-eating contest.
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