Yearly Archives: 2011

Food and Drink, Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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Das Bullpen Opens Near Nats Park

Photo courtesy of
‘Finished Drinking’
courtesy of ‘Quinn Ryan Mattingly’

The next time you get off the Metro at Navy Yard heading toward Nats Park, you’ll be greeted by the exterior of a new outdoor beer garden called Das Bullpen (h/t to Nationals Buzz blogger Kristen Hudak).

Das Bullpen opened Tuesday and is described as the “laid-back alternative” to its partner beer garden, The Bullpen, which further down (by a few yards or so) on Half Street.

Bratwurst, Polish sausage, knockwurst, hot dogs and an extensive European draught beer selection will be available to patrons.

Das Bullpen will open two hours before the day’s first pitch and stay open until midnight.

The Daily Feed
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Redskins, NFL Season Still In Question; Preseason Schedule Released Anyway

Photo courtesy of
‘FedEx seats’
courtesy of ‘BrianMKA’

You know how we’ve talked about the whole unlikelihood of the Redskins having a 2011 season thanks to a lockout? Well, members of the NFLPA or not, the league is going forward with the idea that the season is going to happen. The first step? Releasing the schedule for the exhibition games that will occur before the season.

In the event things get patched up, the preseason schedule for the Skins is as follows:

Aug. 13 – Pittsburgh
Aug. 20 – @ Indianapolis
Aug. 25 – @ Baltimore, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Sept. 1 – Tampa Bay

Not to read really too much into things, but is the proposed schedule for a  four-game preseason a sign that the owners will back off the request for an 18-game regular season?

SBNation has a full breakdown on the entire schedule for all teams if you’re interested.

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Walworth Farce

Ted van Griethuysen and Aubrey Deeker in The Walworth Farce by Enda Walsh. Directed by Matt Torney. Photo credit: Carol Pratt.

In a dingy public housing apartment three men act out a daily routine, a twisted attempt at farce that’s rife with repeated humiliation and competition. It’s a “routine to keep the family safe,” the patriarch justifies, and it takes a bit for the audience to catch on that what they are seeing is the desperate attempt of an immigrant family to hold on to their past – as the fleeting smell of their mother’s roast chicken fades from their jackets.

Irish playwright Enda Walsh is one of my favorites (seeing Disco Pigs is still among my top theatrical experiences in DC), and the brilliant opening of New Ireland: The Enda Walsh Festival at Studio Theatre – Penelope – definitely raised my hopes for the next two productions. The Walworth Farce is next up, and though its first act has the tension build of a horror movie, it slowly winds down when it should crank up in the second act. Perhaps that was only the energy level of the matinee I saw, and there’s still time to get it sharper with the run already extended.

The play is perhaps a metaphor for the Irish immigrant condition, with the family patriarch Dinny (Ted van Griethuysen) keeping his boys locked up from the outside world of South London. Keeping them safe means keeping their memories of the home they left behind intact, down to the very smell, their Cork accents untouched. The play’s language is full of the deep nostalgia for things you can barely recall. But the memories the father instills in his sons are false, a story told repeatedly to hide the truth – that their diaspora was a necessity out of guilt and fear. Just to kick up that metaphor even more, the guilt is fratricide, which the boys are doomed to repeat.

It’s truly freaky how the first act unfolds, like an Irish Monty Python doing a sick reading of Flowers in the Attic. The three men toss about wigs and prank glasses and 1970’s clothes all too seriously. Then the father notices a mistake, breaks character, and the horror movie begins in earnest.  Continue reading →

History, News, Special Events, Technology, The Daily Feed
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Discovery Coming to Udvar-Hazy

DSC_7957

In case you missed it, NASA announced today – the 30th anniversary of the space shuttle program and the 50th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight by Russian Yuri Gagarin – that the space shuttle Discovery will make its final home at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center as part of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum collection. The 27 year-old orbiter is the longest-serving shuttle of the retiring space fleet and has flown every type of mission during its career.

It will take a place of honor that is currently occupied by the Enterprise as the original ‘test’ orbiter relocates to its new home at the Intrepid Museum in New York City. The Enterprise has been in place since the opening of the center in 2003.

Discovery flew a total of 39 missions, from satellite deliveries to the Hubble, DoD projects to the Russian space station Mir. It retired after returning to Earth on March 9. The venerable orbiter has spent a total of 365 days in space and  flown a number of special missions, including the 100th shuttle mission in 2000 and was the first shuttle to fly under an African-American commander.

It will be several months before Discovery is delivered to Udvar-Hazy. “An acquisition of this importance happens rarely in the life of a museum,” said Air and Space curator Dr. Valerie Neal. “It is an honor and privilege to welcome Discovery into the national collection, where it will be displayed, preserved, and cared for forever.”

Food and Drink, The Features, The Hill, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Seventh Hill Pizza

Photo courtesy of
‘Seventh Hill Pizza’
courtesy of ‘kspidel’

Last summer, in a fit of humidity-induced insanity, my friends and I decided to taste test non-delivery pizzas around town. There were seven pies, and in an attempt to branch out a little, I picked up one from Seventh Hill. I figured this Eastern Market spot (which no one had heard of before) would finish somewhere in the middle of the pack with perennial favorite 2 Amy’s coming out on top. In a Cinderella story that ESPN would surely have composed a specific theme song for, Seventh Hill came out of nowhere and clinched the win.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Hot Ticket: Acid Mothers Temple @ Red Palace, 4/14/11

Pink Lady Lemonade

Do you like guitars? Do you like noise? Do you want to have your mind blown?!

Acid Mothers Temple, a Japanese “guitar freak-out” band, make their Red Palace debut on Thursday night. This is a band that’s cranked out dozens of albums over their 15-year career. Their music lies somewhere around drone and psych rock. It’s going to be challenging; it will bend your definition of ‘music’. You can probably tell by now whether you’re intrigued, or whether you want to stay as far away as possible. I heard great things about their show last year at DC9 – here are some pictures if you’re curious. (Warning: contains guitar abuse.)

In case you couldn’t guess by the name, the band has attracted a cult-like following (being somewhat of a cult itself). I plan to be indoctrinated on Thursday. Bring earplugs.

Acid Mothers Temple Melting Paraiso U.F.O
with Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers
Thursday, April 12th
Red Palace
$12 adv/$14 day of

Sports Fix, The Features
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Caps vs. Rangers: What will it take to escape the first round?

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_4766.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

If there are two days during the regular season when Caps were at their lowest, they were probably December 12th and February 25th. Those two days the Capitals, having dealt with recent struggles, were not just shut out by the New York Rangers …

They were buried.

New York beat Washington 7-0 in December and 6-0 in February while taking the season series from the Caps 3-1-0 (or 1-2-1 from the Washington perspective). The Rangers outscored Washington 17-6 and basically pestered the eventual top team in the Eastern Conference through four games.

Perhaps this is not the playoff matchup the Caps were hoping for. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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The DC 41 assessed over $2,000 in fines for protest

Photo courtesy of
‘2011 04 11 – 7869 – Washington DC – DC Rights Protest’
courtesy of ‘thisisbossi’

The protestors who were arrested on Constitution Avenue late yesterday, who are becoming known as the “DC 41” or the “DC 41 for 51,” were released late last night after a lengthy processing by the US Capitol Police.  While several chose to pay the $50 fine (some paying $51 as a symbolic gesture), others will appear in Superior Court on May 5th to fight the charge.

The protest yesterday drew hundreds of District Residents angry that the city’s financial process is hamstrung and bargained with by a federal government that the city has no say in.  As the Mayor and Council called for budget autonomy for the District, and the crowd cheered their approval, the USCP one by one arrested the protestors, councilmembers and council chair and finally the Mayor.

Included among those arrested were: CM Bowser, CM Alexander, CM Wells, CM Biddle, CM Michael Brown, Council Chair Kwame Brown, and Mayor Vincent Gray.  Pictured above is Ward 5 activist Robert Vinson Brannum, being arrested.

Continue reading →

Featured Photo, The Features
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Featured Photo

Paver Style Headstone
Paver Style Headstone by Karon

A few years ago, I was talking with my friend Brooke about cemeteries. I had strong opinions that they were places of rest to be undisturbed, and she remembers growing up and playing in them. I love what Karon did with this image, capturing the lonesome nature of the place, with respect for the departed, and the honors we pay to them.

The Daily Feed
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Early voting for special election

Photo courtesy of
‘VOTE’
courtesy of ‘nevermindtheend’

The early absentee-in-person voting for the April 26th special election has begun. If you need to vote early (or just want to get your civic duty done early) you can visit the Board of Elections and Ethics office at One Judiciary Square to vote between 8:30 AM and 8:00 PM Monday-Saturday, and 12:30 PM 5:30 PM on Sunday, April 17th.

Note that due to budget constraints, this isn’t like the early voting from the regular election and primary. Those were standard votes, counted more or less with everything else, but these are absentee votes that will be counted later.

News
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Mayor, Councilmembers arrested in budget-related rally

Gray Being Arrested
Photo by @IMGoph

Mayor Vince Gray and several councilmembers, including Michael A. Brown and Muriel Bowser, and council candidates including Sekou Biddle, were arrested this evening by the US Capitol Police for failing to disperse in an orderly fashion after a protest outside the Senate Hart Office building spilled onto Constitution Avenue.

More from DCist.

The Daily Feed
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Zimmerman to 15-day DL

Photo courtesy of
‘Zimmerman Wins It’
courtesy of ‘Max Cook’

This was not the news the Nationals needed.  Ben Goessling of MASN has the full word, but yesterday’s absence in the lineup in New York appears to be the tip of the iceberg for the face of the Nationals’ franchise.  Without Zim, the Nats are going with Alex Cora and Jerry Hairston Jr. in the position, which is sorta like bringing in Jay Leno to fill in for Conan O’Brien, it just doesn’t look right.

The injury is one that Zimmerman sustained during Spring Training, and then aggravated during a slide on Saturday night in New York.  The placement will be retroactive to yesterday, which means he’s eligible to come off on the 25th of May.  I’m sure there’s an Easter joke in here somewhere.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Features
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What will it take for the Caps to win the Cup?

Photo courtesy of
‘2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs Logo’
courtesy of ‘jpowers65’

Are you ready to rock?

The 2010-11 Washington Capitals regular season was just a long exercise in patience. It was never supposed to be a definitive statement of what the Caps are or where the franchise stands in the pantheon of almost-great NHL hockey teams.

If anything, it was an exercise in patience, humility, endurance, creative problem solving and transformation. The Caps were like a caterpillar that turned into a butterfly.

Washington started off the season a high-octane offense-first juggernaut – flying, big scoring, finesse and fragile. This was the version of the Caps that the fans had come to know and love and be continually frustrated by in the playoffs. Up until the last weekend of November, the MVP of the Caps was probably Alexander Semin. If you even thought of Semin as the MVP of this team now, they would laugh you out of the Green Turtle. Then there were the larval stages, December through most of March, where the Caps suffered through the changes of playing a different style of hockey, relying less on scoring (and scoring a lot less), integrating new players from outside the organization and folding in the prospects to the already young base of Alexander Ovechkin, Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green.

The Caps learned to play good defense. Not just the defensemen, but the entire team has gotten better on the back check, they are still aggressive on the forecheck if a bit tempered, and have the ability to trap and keep shots coming from the wings as opposed to the slot. It has not been a perfect transition – the inner offensive juggernaut wants to be free – but it has been effective enough where Washington was able to rally out of its doldrums, find some of it old offense and emerge the butterfly as the Eastern Conference top seed heading into the playoffs. The spinning wheels of waiting for the second season, the real season, are finished.

Now it is time to fly.

What do the Caps need to do to succeed in the chase for Lord Stanley’s Cup? Here are five items that will be important for Washington to get over its frustration and make a run deep into spring.

Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Wire @ Black Cat, 4/7/11

IMG_9707
all photos by author.

Wire played at the Black Cat on Thursday night for an adoring crowd of older fans and hardcore music geeks. They are touring on their excellent new album, “Red Barked Tree”. The new album was featured heavily on Thursday night, but Wire also offered up a sampler of the many phases they have gone through in their 30+ years career. The show was an interesting blend of energy levels and quality as the many sounds of Wire don’t always fit neatly next to one another. This was my first time seeing Wire in concert; while I walked away satisfied by the show, it was not the knock-out performance I was expecting.

If Wire will be remembered for one thing, it will be that they always did things on their own terms. One of the most important bands in the punk to post-punk transition, Wire harnessed the energy of ’77 UK punk to fuel their strange creations. Along with peer-bands like Magazine and Joy Division, they helped herald in a new era of unconventional sounds. Never satisfied being pigeonholed by the critics as “this type of band” or “that type of band”, Wire shifted gears many times over the years. From punk to post-punk to pop to industrial and so on, Wire were and still are always in a state of flux. While this is the thing that makes Wire such a satisfying and exciting band to listen to at home, I’m afraid it held their live show back a little bit on Thursday.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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DC Brau ships first order, announces Friday Launch Party

DC Brau's First Order

The first brewery to open in the District since the 1950s shipped their first bar order this afternoon, a number of kegs bound for an area bar, as pictures above.  In addition, the brewery this weekend announced a launch party at Meridian Pint this Friday afternoon, with pints of The Public running just $4.  There will also be awesome DC Brau swag for the public, too.  If you missed our profile of Brandon Skall and Jeff Hancock, it’s not too late to get caught up in preparation for Friday.

Sports Fix, The Features
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Do Away Fans Really Jam Nationals Park?

Photo courtesy of
‘First pitch’
courtesy of ‘BrianMKA’

When it comes to talking about the crowds at Nationals Park, there is at least one Greek Choral reminder from the masses that the majority of fans who make their way through the gates are usually rooting for the other team. This isn’t even a new phenomenon for the Mid-Atlantic, as the central location of Washington and Baltimore amidst its other East Coast counterparts seems to draw the visitors in packs. One of the bigger culprits (assumed culprits, I should say, since the research is to come), are the Phillies, who in addition to being just 122 miles up I95 from Nationals Park have been among the National League elite now for about the last five or six years.

Within a week of a Nationals fan yelling at Braves supporters with “This Ain’t Atlanta,” the Phillies come to town to start the first of three series that they will play down by the Navy Yard. What better time to hyperanalyze attendance numbers and look around to see what we can gather about the Nationals and their opponents’ ability to draw crowds?

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Snowball Fights, Cafés and Dog Parks

Photo courtesy of
‘Trigger Happy’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’

This morning’s cover story on the Washington Post wasn’t Laurent Gbagbo’s struggles in Ivory Coast, or the month anniversary of the devastating tsunami in Japan, or even the recent spike in city-wide crime and homicides, it was a Marc Fisher feature on the demographic shift the city is undergoing and what that means for race relations in the city. The money quote, which Fisher later beats into a bloody pulp with the help of Marshall Brown (yes, Kwame Brown’s dad and political consultant), comes from Blair Ruble at the Comparative Urban Studies Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center:

“The census numbers create a symbolic moment, but the data overamplifies the change in the city,”

This morning, to look at Twitter is to look into the maw of the “myopic little twit” of Courtland Milloy. There’s a lot of people upset about Marshall Brown’s brutal words, which I’ll put below the cut. But is his frustration warranted? Or is he part of the problem?

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Wizards Dominate Atlanta 115-83

Photo courtesy of
‘Andray Blatche’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

The Atlanta Hawks did a great job of making the Washington Wizards look real good on their home court Saturday night. Seven Wizards players posted double-digit point margins, breaking a 12 game losing streak against Atlanta. Washington last victory over Atlanta was Jan. 11, 2008.

“Rarely do you see four games in five nights, four different cities, you come out with that kind of energy but our guys had great energy,” Coach Flip Saunders said.

It was a true team effort, combined with a failure of an Atlanta defense, that allowed ample room for the Washington offense to dominate in a 115-83 victory over a fifth seed playoff team. Continue reading →