Monthly Archives: January 2013

Sports Fix
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Capitals drop home opener to Jets 4-1

Skates
Skates by yostinator

Every year since 2000, the Capitals have carried their home opener with a victory. Every year until 2013. The Capitals looked ragged and rusty on Tuesday night against the Jets of Winnipeg, and showed that a team that’s only been together a week is going to have some weaknesses that have yet to be purged by the fire of training and hard work.

In a lockout-shortened season, with a new head coach, and a whole new system, the Capitals looked more like a practice squad on Tuesday against the Jets. With two days to recover after a 6-3 loss to the Lightning on Sunday, the Caps had hoped to rebound better. The team looked listless and lost at times, and at least one forward found his playing time limited in the face of criticism from his coach: “I didn’t think he was skating.”

It’s a difficult position to be in, with a drastically shorter run-up to the season than in past years, but the Capitals will have to rally to put themselves together ahead of the rest of the short season. It’s one thing to drop a couple to start an 82-game season, but with just 46 games left, it’s dropping a couple mid-season and looking rusty.

The veteran presence on the DC lines will have to show some spark in the coming games if the Caps will want to succeed this season. There’s something missing, and while conditioning seems part of it, these are professional athletes and conditioning ought to be their bread and butter. At some point, it has to come down to chemistry, and Adam Oates has to show us: is he the master alchemist? Can he make sense of his talent and build it into a cohesive whole? Those are hard questions in a short season, and the Caps appear to be stunted by the short run-up to the season.

Also, before you point to the net as the problem here, as much as Holtby has appeared the human sieve, if you’re not even going to try to stop the cross into the slot, you really can’t blame the goalie. Look for Neuvy to get some playing time soon, but there is much to be desired from the blue line boys in the early offing.

Entertainment, Inaugupocalypse, Life in the Capital, Night Life, Special Events, The Features
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The Inaugural Parade: Photos, Drinks, and Empty Metro Cars

2013 Presidential Inauguration dmbosstone

Four years ago I trudged down to The Mall and stood in the cold to see Barack Obama get sworn in as President of the United States of America. This time around I avoided The Mall and checked out the Inaugural Parade instead. I still ended up waiting outside in the cold but it wasn’t that bad.

Read on for lots of photos from the parade route.

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Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Moby (DJ Set) @ U Street Music Hall — 1/19/13

Moby performs in Biarritz, France, in 2011 pelukxs

Four years ago, Moby teamed up with DC staple Will Eastman to perform put on a DJ show at the 9:30 Club in honor of President Obama’s first inauguration. It ran late into the night, but the power went out on the block sometime around 1:30am, shutting everything down for about an hour.

For a bit, Moby tried to gamely improvise by turning a trash can into a drum. The effort sort of fizzled out after a manic 15 minutes or so. As We Love DC reported at the time, “many left dejected and impatient before…the power restoration.” (I too was there and about half the room departed.) But once more space opened up, the remaining people really cut loose with some dancing.

So it was something of a logistical success for Eastman to bring Moby back in a much more intimate venue at U Street Music Hall this past Saturday. Everything ran like clockwork and the sold-out show offered plenty of comfortable elbowroom for people to mill about and check out the scene.

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Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 1/18-1/21

U.S. President Barack Obama - Michelle Obama - 2013 Presidential Inauguration Day Glyn Lowe Photoworks

As America’s greatest fake president liked to say: “What’s next?” The Inauguration has happened; the Parade has been walked (a little less by some public servants. I’m looking at you, Mr. President! Just couldn’t make those three blocks between 12th & 15th Streets, hmm?); and the Balls have been danced away. Now, we work; luckily only for four days. So if your morning drink isn’t getting you over your Inauguration withdrawal, take a look at some pics from this past weekend. Continue reading →

Life in the Capital
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Presidential Flashback: Obama’s First Inauguration

Obama Inauguration - 1-20-09Obama Inauguration – 1-20-09
courtesy of mosley.brian

Yesterday, Tom took care of explaining what everyone needs to know before going down to see the Inauguration and the accompanying Parade. Today is showing you where all that knowledge came from.

To think, it has been four years since the big inauguration in 2009. When I say big, I’m talking size here: estimates were as high as 1.8 million. If you forgot about it, this is what it looked like from space. And this is the sight that so flustered Chief Justice Roberts, he forgot his lines.

I know not everyone is happy with how the election turned out, so I will not be beating any partisan drums here. But I will say that everyone should take a moment and hear President Obama’s address. For no other reason then it should be the duty of every American to at least listen to the President at important speeches (I would add the State of the Union to this category). With the way the country has been the past number of years, it is important at these types of events to remove labels that separate us and just be Americans. Even if it’s only for a few minutes or hours. Celebrate our true national religion today: Government By the People and For the People (as another man from Illinois once put it).

So, without further ado, here are some flashback photos to Obama’s First Inauguration. Enjoy! Continue reading →

Life in the Capital
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The Inauguration: What To Expect

Mall before inauguration ekelly80

We’re almost there.

Everyone’s been arriving for the last 48-72 hours, and the District has been packed to the gills with visitors and residents alike as we all cram into the ten miles square. Tomorrow’s festivities start mid-morning, with the oaths kicking off around 11:30am (both the President & Vice President took their official oaths today before noon), but there are pre-event festivities that will be starting earlier. 

019 kimberlyfaye

What time do I need to get there?

Good question. Plan on getting there early. Crowds are likely to be more sparse than the massive turnout for the 2009 Inaugural, but I would still bet on half a million or so of your closest friends and neighbors to pack the Mall. Plan on getting there well ahead of time. Treat it like a sporting event that you could tailgate for, only, well, you can’t tailgate on the Mall. So you’re probably just going to stand there and chat with friends and strangers. 

Let’s just say, plan on getting to the Mall no later than 9am or so. If you have an actual hard ticket, plan on earlier still. If you’re just going down there to watch on the jumbotrons along the Mall, you’ve got a bit more time to get a spot near the big giant TVs. If you have to clear security, plan on more time even still. Everyone remembers the terrible purple tunnel of doom from 2009, and you really don’t want to get stuck like that.

How should I get there?

For the love of Pierre L’Enfant, don’t drive into the District. 

Because of the Inauguration, you can’t get anywhere near the parts of the city in a car that you might want to. Plan on public transit, which means buses, metro or even Bikeshare (more on that in a minute). Metro is running at rush hour pace from opening tomorrow until late in the day. Three stations are closed tomorrow: Smithsonian, Archives and Mt. Vernon Square. WMATA has made a fancy video and has a whole sub site for just inauguration information including a trip planner. 

Inaugural stands vpickering

What should I bring with me?

Well, as little as possible, frankly. There’s a list of Prohibited Items, and I wouldn’t recommend trying to cross the Secret Service on this one. But, if you’re into bringing stuff, may I recommend: a cellphone, a Smartrip card for Metro, your bikeshare key, pocket warmers, a small sealed bottle of water, and a snack.  You’re probably going to be outside in the cold for at least a few hours, so dress in layers. Leave your backpack at home.

What if I bike down?

Good for you. If you Bikeshare, CaBi will have two separate corrals (one north – at 17th & K NW, and one south – at 12th & Independence SW) where staff will relieve you of your bike and reshuffle them back into the system. If you are just taking your own bike, DCist reports that DDOT will have a big bike parking lot at 16th and I St NW for you to lock up your ride. Remember, people: lights and helmets if you can swing it. And don’t bike like a jerk, okay?

2013 Presidential Inauguration Day- Preparation - Freedom Plaza Glyn Lowe Photoworks

What about the parade?

Doesn’t everyone love a parade? The Parade Route is going to be crowded, so unless you’re part of the ticketed areas of both the swearing in and the parade, I’d recommend picking one or the other. If you have tickets to neither, you definitely have to pick. The parade route opens at 6:30, and you can bet that people will be there well before. So, be prepared to stand around and wait until the parade starts, and that’s not likely until at least 2:30pm. This is going to be a long stand. Be ready.

Okay, so that was fun, now what?

Well, if you got lucky and have tickets to one of the inaugural balls, have an awesome time. Be polite, don’t get too sauced, and if you do, please make sure not to throw up on your rental tux, okay? That’ll cost ya. But in all reality, if you don’t have ball invites, then head out on the town. 154 bars requested – and were granted – permission to serve alcohol until 4am on Tuesday morning, and here’s a handy map of them. 

Anything else?

Just one thing: have fun, and show off your city. This is a phenomenally beautiful place to live, work and play, and we shouldn’t be shy about sharing that with tourists, friends and neighbors. So share the love, everyone. This is likely their capital city, too, not just ours. 

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Bolts Drop Caps in Season Opener

Photo courtesy of photopete
DSC_5306
courtesy of photopete

Shake the rust off, it’s time for hockey!

The Caps opened the shortened 2013 campaign with a 6-3 loss in Tampa Bay last night. The game was close through two periods. Three unanswered goals by the Bolts sunk a Caps team that looked shaky, slow, and  a bit rusty.

Not exactly a stirring debut for new coach Adam Oates. But the stuttering start is somewhat expected, as teams had less than a week in an abbreviated camp. Forming a cohesive spirit with new faces and a new bench boss at the drop of the puck isn’t easy.

Bright spots were two goals from Joel Ward and one from newcomer Wojtek Wolski that tied the game in the second. “You always hope to contribute, for sure,” Ward said. “You’re not going to go out there and say I’m going to score five or anything, but you try to finish your opportunities if you can. I was fortunate to get a couple.”

Another moment that many Caps fans enjoyed was watching defensemen Tom Poti play in his first NHL game since January 2011. Poti got a point in his return. Earlier in the week, Caps senior writer Mike Vogel tweeted that if Poti was able to get back on the ice, he’s a sure-fit for this year’s Masterton Trophy, awarded to a player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. Poti’s battled several physical issues, including a lingering groin injury, for the last two years.

Next up is the Caps home opener on Tuesday against Winnipeg.

Entertainment
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Oscar Watch: Where To Watch Every Academy Award Nominee In D.C.

363/365 ekelly80

If you are like me, you are already caught up in the frenzy of Oscar. You’ve been studying the field of nominees since Academy Awards nominees were read off by Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone last week. You watched the Golden Globes and rooted for Oscar-snubbed Ben Affleck and tried to make sense of Jodie Foster’s speech.

You also viewed the long Holiday/Inaugural weekend as a time to make some progress on Oscar watching. So if you are like me, you are probably planning out where you can watch all the nominees. Last year I wrote some tips to make the most of your Oscar Watching experience. Here is a breakdown of where you can locally find this year’s nominees.

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We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: Jan 18-21

Standing at attention afagen

The long weekend is almost here, though if you were planning on spending your Monday off out and about in the city, well…. The best inauguration advice we could come up with in discussions about it was this: Walk. And plan to walk. And be sure you’re ready to walk.

Tom: I am so ready for a weekend. Unfortunately, this one looks like it’s fully booked already! Saturday morning, I’ll be hitting up the Hyattsville Busboys & Poets for their awesome breakfast (poached eggs over Iraqi hash? Yeah, I’m down.), plus I’ll be preparing for one last Inauguration supply run before all the streets close. Fortunately, there’s a lot of places staying open til 4am this weekend, so I shouldn’t hurt for socialization or company.  Sunday is the christening of our friend’s oldest, so we’ll be off to the wilds of Falls Church where I will hopefully not burst into flames when I set foot inside a church.

Yule Log Glyn Lowe Photoworks

Mosley: My Saturday plans have been sidetracked by family/friend obligations, but if I had the day to myself, I’d be getting out and doing stuff.  On Saturday, I’d go to the Leica DC store for the lecture by photographer Craig Semetko; as I said in my post, it looks fascinating.  Sunday is looking like a generally quiet day, which is good because I’m still considering going downtown for the Inauguration on Monday.  I got some good photos of Obama’s first swearing in, and I’d like to do it again.  Considering there have only been 57 Inaugurations, this is quite the event.

Army brass philliefan99

Patrick: My Inaugural weekend starts Friday with some more Oscar watching. It’s going to be between Lincoln or The Hobbit. Both will be good yet terribly long. There won’t be a whole lot gym time this long weekend so I’m going to fit my fitness in on Saturday morning with a trip around Glover Park. Saturday night I will be reviewing the latest show at The Source: Constellation Theatre’s Zorro. After the show I’ll be out on U-Street where at some point I’ll make a stop at the Codmother for some pickleback shots. Sunday will all be about football and I’ll be rooting for my team at a place away from all the Inaugural craziness (that’s for Monday.) As for Inauguration Day, I’ll be covering a couple of events for We Love DC including the Inaugural Parade and the Native Nations Inaugural Ball. Photos and recap to come after!

YouTube Preview Image

Don: My weekend is full of things you probably aren’t invited to, sorry. Baby shower “Sip and see” to show off the kid, dinner with my visiting parents who will largely ignore us and pay attention to their new grandchild, that sort of thing. Monday we’ll cower in our home to avoid the kerfuffle going on downtown and the ensuing transit nightmares, looking hopefully but likely unsuccessfully out the window for some snowflakes to satisfy my Miami-based mother. Along the way it’ll be pretty pedestrian locals stuff. Maybe try out the lobster roll at Liberty Tree – I love a deal – and make another trip to Union Market when they’re not annoyingly 90% closed, despite claims to the contrary. Sadly my parents aren’t big cocktail drinkers so we’ll have to skip being the people with the baby in a bar yet again for Sunday’s Passenger brunch.

2013 Presidential Inauguration Day- Preparation - Freedom Plaza Glyn Lowe Photoworks

Fedward:  Four years ago it was so cold, and the flood of people shown on TV exiting L’Enfant Plaza was so intense, that I made some cocoa and stayed in my pajamas, watching the inauguration on TV.  In the afternoon the Social Chair and I rallied and took a bus downtown to see how close we could get to the parade route.  One thing led to another and we found ourselves at the gates at 15th & New York Ave, with a view of the stands in front of the White House.  I approached a guard and said, “I’ve heard that in previous years you’ve just started letting people in. Is that going to happen this year?”  He looked at his watch, looked at the people hanging out on New York Avenue, turned around to look at the stands, and said, “sure, come on on in.”  A few minutes later they started rounding up everyone and telling them to go in.  It worked out well for us.  This year it probably won’t be quite as cold, but we don’t have to worry about the parade.  We’ve got tickets to the ball.

The Daily Feed
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Capitals return to Verizon Center

Photo courtesy of tbridge
Far Goal
courtesy of tbridge

With the beginning of the lockout-shortened season just over the horizon, the Capitals hosted fans in an appreciation event at Verizon Center, where fans could pick their own seats for an open practice. The lower bowl at the Phone Booth was full, and the concourses teeming with fans in their hockey jerseys. The Caps promised free popcorn, sodas, hotdogs and hamburgers for the masses, and delivered with the expected lines throughout the evening.

Owner Ted Leonsis spoke with the media before the practice, and commented publicly for the first time on his role in the lockout and about the negotiations. Leonsis also spoke about the history of the franchise under his ownership, saying that he had “yet to make a penny of profit” from the hockey team, and preferring to keep the business details of running the franchises out of the view of the fans who consume the product.

In some ways, it’s easy to see why Leonsis is frustrated: when you guy a cup of coffee from a local shop, are you interested in what they’re paying their baristas? Or how long their contracts are? Generally that’s less important to your coffee experience. The same might be true for any number of other service providers that we deal with every day, but as we all know: sports is different. We want different things from our sports teams – they’re points of public pride, after all – and that means that we often want to see and know more about how they work inside. It may be a slap in the face to some to hear the owner say he doesn’t like prying eyes.

None of that dampened the festival atmosphere at Verizon Center last night as the players took to the ice, in some cases doing a dance, and the crowds were into it as the pucks once again flew across the sheet. The crowd wasn’t quite the size of a usual game day, and the muted atmosphere in Chinatown was a mirror of the reluctance many fans feeling a bit pinched by the lockout, but that there was hockey on a weeknight in winter felt just fine by this reporter.

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Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Morrissey @ Strathmore Music Center — 1/16/13 (or “Moz Not Moz”)

Morrissey, courtesy Morrissey

Morrissey, courtesy Morrissey

Some fans of Morrissey have a problem letting the man grow old. Certain blogs will heap upon their readers pictures of him from 25 years ago with his shirt open and flowers sticking out of his pockets. And even the most conscientious Morrissey fan will at some point in the conversation wistfully say, “I really looooooove The Smiths,” as if the powerful but fitful start of Morrissey’s music career was all there really ever was of it.

In a way, these fans can be forgiven. In his appearance at the Strathmore Music Center in Bethesda, Md., Wednesday night, Morrissey opened his show with “Shoplifters of the World Unite” and closed it on “How Soon Is Now?” He played several other songs by The Smiths along the way in the 20-song set. But make no mistake — this is not the Morrissey that folks have under glass, frozen in their minds. He’s older, wiser, and dare I say, happier?

I’ve seen Moz in concert a whopping eight times in the past five years thanks to the charming Yasmin, who hooks me into following him around on short arcs when he’s in the area. Although it was more obvious in his performances of four years ago, it still seems plain as day to me that Morrissey is much more content and confident, as a person and an artist, than he was earlier in his career — at the time when people would freeze him for posterity. And it’s quite becoming, I would say. The older Morrissey is eloquent and erudite. His passion for causes really flares up only in his ongoing partnership with PETA, where he protests the eating of animals as cruel, particularly in an elaborately staged rendition of “Meat is Murder.” (Sorry, Steve, but I’m going to eat chickens no matter how many times you show me a video of their admittedly terrible treatment at the hands of some farmers.) But outside of his vegetarian activism, Morrissey seems to know when enough is enough.

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The Daily Feed
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Lecture & Book Signing at the Leica DC Store

Photo courtesy of Craig Semetko
“Roller Coaster, Seaside Heights NJ 2013”
courtesy of Craig Semetko

The Leica Gallery, at the Leica DC store, will hold a free lecture and book signing for their current exhibition featuring works by Craig Semetko, a renowned street and documentary photographer. The gallery shows work from Semetko’s book “UNPOSED” and a preview of his current project “America: E Pluribus Unum”. The event will take place this Saturday, January 19th, with two lectures; one from noon-1pm and and another from 3-4pm. Both lectures will be followed by a book signing; RSVP at “RSVP (at) leica-store-dc.com” with the preferred time. The lectures will discuss his experiences and show new images from his ongoing project. Prints will also be available for sale.

The Leica Gallery is showing the “UNPOSED” exhibit until January 31st.

While I won’t be able to make the lectures due to a sudden family obligation, this sounds like a wonderful chance to hear from an acclaimed photographer and get ideas for your own work. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard for anyone interested in developing an artistic eye is to explore many different artist’s works and listen to their experiences. You never know where/when inspiration will take you.

Sports Fix
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A Thank You to Michael Morse

RAD_1549 Tony DeFilippo

This evening, it has been widely reported that Michael Morse has been traded to the Seattle Mariners for prospects A.J. Cole, Blake Treinen and a player to be named later in a three team that also featured the Oakland Athletics.

This deal had likely been in the works since the Nationals completed the contract for Adam LaRoche. With LaRoche re-signing, the opportunity for Morse to play every day was largely gone, as the set outfield of Harper/Span/Werth didn’t have a place for Morse that would give him the playing time that he deserves.

Before he goes, though, I need to tell you what he meant to me as a Nationals fan.

Michael Morse was involved in my two favorite moments of the 2012 season, both of which I observed as a fan from the stands (or in front of the TV), and not as a credentialed blogger.  The first was the phantom grand slam from September, which saw Morse hit a long ball off the second wall at Busch Stadium in Saint Louis, which caromed back onto the field. With the bases loaded, they threw the ball back in and tagged out Morse on his way back to first as the runners were forced back into position.

On review, the umpires declared the ball a home run, but, as they wanted to make sure everyone touched ’em all, Morse took a phantom swing – no bat in his hands – to start the whole play anew and set the runners in motion so they didn’t pass one another on the base paths. Instant classic there as Morse stood with Yadier Molina as the umpires waited to set things in motion.

The second was probably the best moment of the regular season: As the Nationals were playing the Phillies on October 1st at Nationals Park, the team clinched the Playoffs with a Braves loss in the middle of the 9th inning. After a pause to celebrate, Michael Morse stepped into the batters’ box as the PA played A-Ha’s Take on Me, his signature late-innings walk-up music. As had been the case for most of 2012, and much of 2011, the crowd joined in the chorus. It was one of the most joyous moments I’ve seen at Nationals Park, or since baseball returned to the Nation’s Capital.

There was, in that song, whenever it was played, something that belonged just to Washington sports – just to the Nationals – that wasn’t something that was transplanted or orchestrated or outright stolen.

It was ours.

Morse, in so many ways, represented the built-up strength of the Nationals. He was a misfit from the Seattle organization. A talented player who needed a place that could work with his skills, and that was definitely the Nationals. While he wasn’t a defensive wunderkind the way someone like Ryan Zimmerman or Bryce Harper was, he did have that offensive spark that just came to life in the humid summer on the shores of the Potomac.

Morse embodied the moxie  that the Nationals built. His confident approach at the plate paid off through 2011 (.303/.360/.550) and 2012 (.291/.321/.470), in which he combined for 49 HRs and 157 RBI, and won the hearts of Nationals fans across the city. There was much lamentation, first when the Nationals re-signed LaRoche (and started this process), and then again when the trade was reported tonight, that losing Morse was losing a piece of the Nationals’ soul.

In many ways, those feelings are ones that I share. I understand why it was necessary, and why the roster is stronger now than it ever has been.

But it doesn’t mean I have to like seeing Morse go.

Thank you, Beast, for living as this city’s baseball swagger, for being the heart of the 2012 Nationals, and most of all for teaching this city how to hit the high notes, all together.

Here’s hoping we get to sing A-Ha again for you soon.

Georgetown
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Think you’re having a bad day?

Car in C&O Canal
Photo by brownpau

Think you’re having a bad day? Not as bad as this driver, who got a little too excited and drove his Camry right into the C&O Canal. Police say that speed contributed to the accident.

You don’t say.

Relax, though, unlike last week’s jumper, this incident won’t be causing any apocalyptic traffic jams.

The Features
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President sides with the District

the number of "The Beast"

An announcement came late in the afternoon that the White House would, at least as far as the license plates on the President’s limousine, take up the cause of Statehood for the District of Columbia, and put the tags that read “Taxation Without Representation” on the Presidential limousine. Nicknamed “The Beast,” President Obama’s Cadillac limousine will sport tags carrying the District’s unofficial official motto instead of the old “A Capital City” plates that were used by the Bush Administration and the first Obama Administration.

President Obama will be the second president to use the license plate to advocate for DC statehood: briefly in 2000 before he left office, President Clinton added the Taxation Without Representation plates to his road transport instead of the “Celebrate & Discover” tagline. The plates were removed when President Bush took office in 2001.

Last week, the DC Council sent representatives to the White House (Mary Cheh, Ward 3, and Phil Mendelson, Chair) to lobby the Intergovernmental Affairs office. At the end of the meeting, both remarked that the meeting had been productive, but produced no specific results. Today those results were more specific. In addition, local advocacy group DC Vote managed to garner more than 3,500 signatures on the White House petition website to push the President.  While that total fell radically short of the 25,000 necessary to be issued a response by the White House.

As it turns out, DC got a small victory despite the small turnout. Look for this to raise discussion points across the US that the city remains the only part of the country that pays Federal taxes but has no congressional representation. Didn’t know that? Tell your friends and family.

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Midge Ure @ World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, Pa. — 1/10/13

Here and Now Tour 2011 135 v2 Andrew_D_Hurley

Midge Ure perhaps is more famous in the United States for being behind the scenes — helping to organize Live Aid and to write “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, the perennial holiday song aimed at famine relief in Africa.

But the Scot has a robust singing career in the United Kingdom and recently reunited with the band Ultravox, which put out a brilliant new album, titled Brilliant, last year.

As a likely precursor to an Ultravox tour of the United States, Ure is conducting a solo tour right now, performing both solo songs and some classic Ultravox tunes, in a 16-date tour of the United States and Canada. Tonight, he performs a second show in Toronto before hitting Cleveland Wednesday. (The closest he got to DC was Philadelphia, where this reporter traveled to see him last Thursday.)

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Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Playing with light streams on walk home tonight wolfkann

Time lapse videos have always fascinated me, particularly the ones showing traffic (like this one). These types of videos give the impression of incredible speed, even if the cars aren’t going that fast. To capture the essence of a time lapse video in one still photo is easier than you think; generally all you need is a decent camera, a tripod, and some traffic. But it’s also almost impossible to know exactly what you’re going to get. With long exposures you generally have to open the shutter and then figure out what photo you took. To get an interesting photo that’s more than just lines, you have to get lucky.

Take Kevin’s photo above. First there is the standard white/yellow colored headlights from oncoming traffic, giving the sense of movement. But what is that blur of multi-color in the middle? It’s a bus, with it’s front displays causing that play of light. Notice how the greenish-yellow coloring slowly fades as the position of the bus changes, relative to the camera. It’s the same with the red highlight lights, where they suddenly come into existence and just as suddenly stop. I can bet Kevin didn’t know exactly what he was going to get when that bus showed up along Pennsylvania Ave, but I’m also sure he wanted it in this shot.

Sports Fix
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Capitals Release Tickets, Start Fan Appreciation Week

Rock the Red theqspeaks

Late Saturday night, while the whole city was having a good long party, hockey returned to the District of Columbia. The Caps released their short 48-game schedule – games played in just 98 days – and announced that the team would be holding events leading up to the home opener on the 22nd.

Included in the events the team announced – events the team needs to hold to win back even just the homeliest sliver of good will from a fanbase abused by the lockout – are an open practice on the 17th with free concessions (excluding alcohol), and giveaways at WashingtonCaps.com. These are but the least of the Caps worries at the moment as they face a whirlwind of travel this season, as well as a division stacked with talent.

They begin home play at Verizon Center on January 22nd, and single game tickets went on sale today ahead of the short 24-game home season. Some highlights if you want a great matchup: Superbowl Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, March 5th against the Boston Bruins, or back-to-back games against the conference champs in late February. For those wanting blowouts, the Leafs are through in February and April, and I would grab both games.

Early news from the Caps has been good, but with some question marks. Specifically, there are concerns around the health of Alternate Captain Brooks Laich, who is day-to-day with a lower body injury of an undisclosed nature. Also in question is Nick Backstrom, who sustained what appears to be a neck injury during KHL play. Both could miss playing time, but much is still unknown about both situations.

Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 1/11-1/13

stay to the right philliefan99

This weekend can be summed up in one word: fog. I have a couple of adjectives I’d like to use it as well, which can also describe some of the weathermen who mis-predicted this weather; but I consider you to be polite company and will not offend you with what I want to say. All I know is, we were promised a spring-like day and now I want my spring-like day!

Anyways, it’s the week before a long weekend, so we need to just muscle through it. Remember, we have a big party next Monday, where we have a new second-termer coming back into office. So, to help with the warm-up, and to help you get into the mood for the week, take a look back at our disappointing weekend in beautiful photos! Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: The Last Liberation Dance Party — 1/18/13

Matt Dunn occasionally gets old school at Liberation Dance Party furcafe

I was sad to learn recently that DC9 will end its weekly Liberation Dance Party, the premiere indie pop dancehall experience in DC, on Friday, Jan. 18.

Not only has Liberation kept up with the best mix of britpop, glam, new wave, post-punk, dreampop, shoegaze, house, nu disco, hip hop, grime, sheer guilty pleasures, and more since its inception in 2004, it has done so as a video party. For me, the resulting effect has been very similar to a modern equivalent of taking mid-1980s MTV, cutting any of the soft rock crap, and making a party out of it in your favorite third space.

I’m not instantly comfortably anywhere, but I was always at home at Liberation Dance Party, cloaked in the sounds of Franz Ferdinand, the Kaiser Chiefs, Hot Chip, The Sounds, The Killers, and some occasional New Order. I was introduced to new favorites like Dragonette and Goldfrapp. I learned to love Kylie almost as much as Bill Spieler, the host with the most. (Thank you, Bill, for bringing the party for so many years.) VJ Matt Dunn dependably brought David Bowie with him every time and VJ Shannon Stewart played Lady Gaga until Bill got sick of her and banned her from the club (Gaga, that is, not Shannon!).

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