Monthly Archives: April 2013

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends – April 19-21

_TOM3906-HDR tfinzel

Joanna: (Peeking out from behind her door) Are the tourists gone yet? Because I’m thinking of having a picnic this weekend, somewhere near the Tidal Basin. On Saturday Ghion is hosting 12 bands from 2pm to 2am. I’m too old for that, but I might drag my increasingly ancient butt out for an NYC reunion with Emily Danger, which is slated at 11pm and has a really dynamic thing going with the help of my friend Cam on violin. On Sunday I’m seeing Wallenstein at Shakespeare Theater Company and hopefully catching a few zzz’s too.

Rachel: Friday night I’ll be back at Ebenezers Coffeehouse to watch singer-songwriter Grace Pettis and her band rock out. Then Saturday night I’ve got a gig of my own at the DC Arts Center as part of the Capital City Showcase. If you’ve never been, it’s a variety show hosted by DC native Christian Hunt that brings together comedians and musicians for a night of stand-up comedy and original music. Plus — the theater at the DC Arts Center is one of those smaller black box theaters and the acoustics in there are fantastic. I don’t even mic up, I just sing without having to plug in my guitar or anything. It makes for an organic and fun performance. Then Sunday it’s back to Stoddert Field for week three of the GPCSL before the Nats head back into town for a homestand on Monday.

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Entertainment
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Rare Opportunity: Classic Silent Films at AFI Silver Theatre

Promotional photo from Harold Lloyd's film Safety Last!, via Wikimedia Commons.

Promotional photo from Harold Lloyd’s film Safety Last!, via Wikimedia Commons.

This weekend the DC area’s finest movie palace, the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, begins a Silent Cinema Showcase. Many of the films and shorts will feature live accompaniment. While you’ve probably seen the image above, you may not know anything about the film Safety Last! itself. Even Roger Ebert hadn’t seen it before he reviewed it in 2005!  He wrote:

It is by general agreement the most famous shot in silent comedy: a man in a straw hat and round horn-rim glasses, hanging from the minute hand of a clock 12 stories above the city street. Strange, that this shot occurs in a film few people have ever seen.

Your chance to be one of the few comes this weekend. A new 35mm print of Safety Last! will be presented Sunday at 7:30, with live musical accompaniment. Other films in the series include two feature films starring screen legend Mary Pickford, a collection of experimental shorts called Wild and Weird, and shorts by Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, and Buster Keaton (you get two chances for Keaton: one short is grouped with Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy, and then three Keaton shorts will be presented together).

The series starts this weekend and runs through May 4.

Fitness District, Fun & Games, Get Out & About, Life in the Capital, The Great Outdoors
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On Running and Falling In Love Again

Chilly Morning Run Karon

I am a runner. It feels a bit weird to say that, because only 8 months ago, I couldn’t even run a mile.

It started last August. I had been a bridesmaid in a wedding for an entire weekend, you know the drill – bridesmaids luncheon, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception. All weekend long I had been wearing the tallest of high heels, and the Sunday after the wedding I set out for a short jog, stepped off a curb and pulled my IT Band. Something about extending it and contracting it, and whatever. It ended in pain. I played tough guy for about a month, but after limping around the office for too long, my boss yelled at me and made me go into the doctor. The doctor prescribed physical therapy and I wound up in the good care of Alyssa White at PhysioTherapy Associates. (She is amazing. So is her colleague Sarah, if you’re looking for a good physical therapist.)

Somewhere in my first few weeks of PT, I got the bright idea that I should enter the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile lottery. Just on a whim. One afternoon at work, I decided that it was a brilliant idea and so I just did it. Everyone asks why, especially when the longest I’d ever run was a 5k, and I had no real explanation.  I wanted a goal. I wanted to show up each week and exercise my discipline. I wanted to do it because I knew I could.

So I set about creating a team of people and DC small businesses who would help, and the first step was Alyssa and getting my ITB back in shape. The second was finding a decent training program.

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Monumental
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Memorial 2.0 Map from NCPC & NPS

NCPC/NPS Map Tom Bridge

There are so many monuments in DC it’s hard to keep track of them all. No, really, it’s kind of ridiculous how many statues there are in this city, not even including Statuary Hall at the Capitol or any of the interior objet d’art at various national organizations who make their home in the District. Fortunately, the Park Service and the National Capital Planning Commission have your back, and their latest effort was published today.

This google map is annotated with literally hundreds of the various statues and markers that dot our local landscape. Some of the more obscure include the Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain (on the Ellipse), Nuns of the Battlefield (at St. Matthew’s on M Street), and Jules Jusserand (Rock Creek Park). There are detailed entries on a number of the statues and markers, the result of the collaboration between the two entities. It’s worth a look if you’re going to be playing tour guide any time soon, and perhaps it’s a chance to create a cool scavenger hunt for yourself this weekend.

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Starling Blossom CuriousTripod

I’ve taken quite a few bird photos in my day, but I don’t think I’ve ever been able to get a shot like this one. Not only was Dan able to get a Starling inside a cherry tree nook, but he got it while holding a cherry blossom in its beak. That’s some skill right there. And the qualities of this photo don’t end there. Look at the bird and you’ll see the wonderful color variation in its chest plume. Also, the depth of field, or fuzzy, background is perfect for giving color to shot while not distracting from the main subject matter. This is a top notch wildlife photo!

Entertainment, Music, People, She/He Loves DC, The Features
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He Loves DC: Ted Garber

Photo for Patch--Ted Garber

Photo Courtesy of Ted Garber

She/He Loves DC is a series highlighting the people who love this city just as much as we do.

Ted Garber is a DC native. These days, he’s an award-winning “BluesAmericanaRock” singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentatlist. Ted’s also a perpetual student who frequently travels the globe in an attempt to absorb as much about the world’s cultures as he can. His curiosity is contagious.

What is it about DC that makes it home to you?  

That’s an easy one.  I was born in DC at Washington, DC hospital.  My late father made his living all his too-short life playing music in and around DC. I grew up in and around DC. My mother worked at the Justice Department. In spite of a few fascinating years in New Orleans, West Virginia, and L.A., DC will always be the place where both my family and I are from. I mean, my Dad sang on the now-defunct official Redskins Singers choir. It was commensurate to blasphemy to take the ‘Skins name in vain or to disparage them in any way, especially during a losing game. That particular violation usually resulted in a grounding or a night spent taking dinner alone in my room. To be fair though, I am an Orioles fan. The Nats did not exist when I was growing up here, so we drove to Memorial Stadium and later Camden Yards for games. (That’s probably going to bring me grief for admitting, I know).

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Entertainment, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Grace Pettis

Photo by Rodney Bursiel

Photo by Rodney Bursiel

When I first met singer-songwriter Grace Pettis this past October, I was standing outside The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee. The airline had left my bags in D.C. so I was on the phone with them for a good hour while soaking up the southern sunshine in my cowboy boots. It was my first time at the legendary Bluebird. It’s a special place to the songwriting a community. It’s a place where some of the finest songwriting talent in this country has played at least a song or two. And that’s also the night I learned that “timing is everything.”

While on the phone with the airline, a car pulled into the lot and a group got out to start loading in for the night. That was Grace Pettis and her band. It was the night of a CD release show for her most recent album “Two Birds.” Like I said, timing is everything.

As they unloaded for the gig, I held the door open for them a few times. What else did I have to do? I was on hold without any of my luggage in Music City, USA with just my phone and wallet. After load-in, they sound checked and what I heard was worth getting to the Bluebird early for.

Grace returns to Washington for a set at Ebenezers Coffeehouse this Friday and took some time over e-mail to answer a few of our questions. Here’s what she had to say. Continue reading →

The District
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In Solidarity with Boston

Last Sunrise Tony DeFilippo

It’s been a pretty hard day for a lot of people, and our hearts go out to the families of the injured and the dead in Boston, where two bombs exploded at the end of the Boston Marathon on Patriot’s Day. 140+ are injured and 3 are dead.

It is both hard to fathom the attack on Boston, and yet it is so familiar to all of us who lived through 9/11. The smoke and the chaos, the fear and the anger, the hurt and heroism. 

Tomorrow is Emancipation Day in the District, a holiday to celebrate the freeing of the slaves in DC during the waning days of the Civil War. There will be a parade and a festival downtown at Freedom Plaza, and many businesses and offices will close for the day. It won’t be quite the same atmosphere as a Patriot’s Day in Boston – really, what is? – but there will be eyes on the city tomorrow as it celebrates in public.

MPD and Metro have already gone to heightened states of alert, though there are no disclosed threats to the metro area or to our transit systems. And yet, I worry for my city tonight, afraid of what tomorrow brings. Then I saw what my friend and fellow editor Dave Levy wrote tonight: The Sun Rises on Boston Tomorrow. This is not a city afraid, or a city reeling and listing, it is a city rising up. 

If Boston rises tomorrow, unafraid and unfaltering, then the District must rise with them, unafraid and unfaltering. Tomorrow is Emancipation Day, when District residents will take to the halls of Congress to lobby for statehood and local control. Tomorrow, we march in celebration of freedom ordained by our founding documents for all citizens regardless of their skin color. Be vigilant, tomorrow, and be observant, but do not be afraid.

It feels insincere to tell a city not to worry when there are real dangers out there, but I know that this town, like our friends in New England, is full of those who meet danger with courage, fear with resolve, and meet challenges like this with strength and determination.

We stand with our friends in Boston tomorrow, and every day, determined not to let fear get the better of us, and to meet the difficulties of life with help and with support for each other.

So say we all.

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Andy and the Shadows

Jennifer Mendenhall & Alexander Strain in Andy and the Shadows at Theater J / Photo by Stan Barouh

Jennifer Mendenhall & Alexander Strain in Andy and the Shadows at Theater J / Photo by Stan Barouh

Memories lost and found, tragedy and forgetting, fact and fiction, dreams and reality: it all comes to a head in Andy and the Shadows at Theater J.

Written by Theater J artistic director Ari Roth and directed by Daniella Topol, Andy and the Shadows is part of Theater J’s second annual Locally Grown Festival, which brings to the stage new works by local playwrights.

The story centers around the Glickstein family from the perspective of neurotic, angst-ridden Andy – the middle child of his Holocaust survivor parents. Each of the three children choose to deal with their parents’ dark history in different ways. Andy chooses to wrestle with his family’s ghosts at home.

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Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 4/12-4/14

Sunset as viewed from DC looking over Arlington wolfkann

That’s it, the Cherry Blossom Festival is over. And hopefully the masses of tourists will taper off for a few weeks before the brunt of summer starts. At least, one could hope that happens. Other than that, us Washingtonians simply continue our day-to-day norm. And to make that norm a little bit easier, check out and enjoy this installment of Weekend Flashback. Continue reading →

Fitness District
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A perfect April Sunday. Well, for some.

Sunday Ballpark Pano Tom Bridge

This is the sort of weather baseball is meant to be played in.  

A gentle breeze sweeps through the outfield, the sun is pleasantly beaming, and some high clouds trundle across the sky far to the north. This is the sort of weekend you long to spend at the ballpark. You want a hotdog in the sun, and a cold beer to go with it. These are the dreams of a winter sleeper, these perfect days.

Unless that was this weekend, and you were a Nationals fan.

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The Daily Feed
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Tim Hudson Dominates The Nats Lineup, Braves Win 3-1

DSC_5681
courtesy of MudflapDC

The Nationals lineup was no match for Atlanta’s right-handed starter Tim Hudson who secured his second win of the season with a 3-1 Braves victory in Washington. The afternoon’s loss was Washington’s second in two days versus Atlanta.

An early throwing error by Ryan Zimmerman in the third inning cost Washington two runs when left fielder Justin Upton stole second ahead of catcher Evan Gattis’ two-out two-run homer. It wasn’t Stephen Strasburg’s strongest outing either, which didn’t help the Nats. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Nats Drop a Heartbreaker 6-4 to Braves

Photo courtesy of philliefan99
a matter of perspective
courtesy of philliefan99

Like Game 5 and 7/20/12 before it, the Nats looked to have a game well in hand. They jumped on Braves rookie starter Julio Teheran early and managed to score two runs in the first and second inning. In the first, Span hustled down the line and beat out a throw that pulled Braves first baseman Evan Gattis off the bag. Two batters later, Harper would lift his fifth homer of the season the opposite way into the left field stands. It was an impressive display of strength by the second year, 20-year old, player.

In the bottom of the second the Nats would add two more as Suzuki would lead off the inning with a walk, get sacrificed to second by Detwiler, and score on a Denard Span single. With one out Span would steal second, his second steal of the season, and Werth would single him home.

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Week in Review
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Week In Review: 4/8-4/11

Reading Under the Cherry Blossoms Azeez Bakare

With our first week of Spring/Summer (ok, mostly Summer) behind us, everyone seems to have taken advantage of the warm weather to get outdoors. All I’ve got to say is: Good job DC! As a nice reward, we’ve got an extra large Week In Review for you. And only every other shot is a (very good) cherry blossom photo. So ignore that “To Do” list on your desk and look at these photos. Continue reading →

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Spamalot

(L to R) Kasidy Devlin (Sir Robin), Adam Grabau (Sir Lancelot), Joshua Taylor Hamilton (Sir Dennis Galahad), Thomas DeMarcus (Sir Bedevere), and Arthur Rowan (King Arthur). Photo credit: Courtesy of Monty Python’s Spamalot.

(L to R) Kasidy Devlin (Sir Robin), Adam Grabau (Sir Lancelot), Joshua Taylor Hamilton (Sir Dennis Galahad), Thomas DeMarcus (Sir Bedevere), and Arthur Rowan (King Arthur). Photo credit: Courtesy of Monty Python’s Spamalot.

It never hurts your anticipation to wait in a humming crowd behind closed theater doors on opening night. Ah, the sheer grandeur of a stage that hosted the world premieres of Showboat, of West Side Story. “What more could you ask for, really?” I thought as I took my seat at the National Theatre.

Fart jokes, obviously.

Yes, Spamalot – the hit show based on the cult film Monty Python and the Holy Grail – is back, this time at the National Theatre. Patrick reviewed it last year when it delighted audiences at the Warner Theatre. A quick recap:

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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: A Man, His Wife, and His Hat

HUB 16_Sasha Olinick and Kerri Rambow_Photo by Melissa Blackall_1600x1066

(Photo: Melissa Blackall)

The setting of Lauren Yee’s A Man, His Wife, and His Hat is unknown. Looking at the actual set of The Hub Theatre production, one might guess that it takes place in the 80s based upon the telephone and television. The dialects and accents hint that it takes place somewhere in old Europe where hat-making is still a feasible profession. The overall feel of the show reminds me of the fictional land of Mypos from Perfect Strangers. It wouldn’t have surprised me if Balki Bartokomous burst through the door to the tunes of Jesse Frederick’s Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now.

The foreign land, the somewhat distant past, and the physics that are meta in both scientific and poetic terms come together to form a fairy-tale world. In Yee’s universe golems live underneath your floorboards, memories are kept in glass jars, and all-knowing walls possess the secrets of the world on printed pages.

Yee’s story, with direction from Shirley Serotsky, is a whimsical one — with a message of love that’s heartwarming yet not too sugar-coated.

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The Daily Feed
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Dan Haren Gets His First Win, Nats Beat White Sox 7-4 for the Sweep

DSC_6983
DSC_6983
courtesy of MudflapDC

Right-handed starting pitcher Dan Haren earned his first win in a Nationals uniform Thursday night leading Washington to a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox and a 7-4 victory. The theme of the night for Haren was dancing himself out of trouble, though it was an improvement from Friday night’s 15-0 loss in Cincinnati. Haren pitched five innings, gave up ten hits and three runs with five strikeouts in addition to throwing one wild pitch and hitting a batter.

Chicago fought hard to prevent the sweep, shelling the Nats with thirteen hits, but they weren’t quite as successful on the base path. The White Sox stranded eleven runners leaving the game in Washington hands if they were able to maintain the lead. Continue reading →

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends – April 12-14

erin m

Mosley: Fun filled weekend!  First, Friday night I’m checking out Inglourious Basterds at the AFI in Silver Spring; I’m not normally a Tarantino fan but I’ve been interested in seeing this movie for awhile.  And seeing a movie at the AFI is always a blast.  Saturday is the annual Sakura Matsuri Street Festival; while I know it gets very, very crowded, it’s still a great event with a ton of sights.  After all that fun, Sunday is almost certainly going to be a relax day but I hope to get out of the house.  The nice weather we are having only lasts so long, so we should soak it up while we can!

Joanna: My weekend starts early with Andy and the Shadows at Theater J, where I’ll be finding out what a “comedy about family with Freudian hallucinations and pre-marital angst” looks like. It continues Friday seeing our very own Rachel Levitin rock out at Ebenezers Coffee House. On Saturday I’ll be darting tourists at the National Gallery of Art while trying out the museum’s new mobile app. Then I close out the weekend with private ordeals at Clyde’s and Redline. I haven’t used a table tap before, but the whole thing sounds like a terrible premise for my type…

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Talkin' Transit, WMATA
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Metro Goes Metal?

Metro announced this morning that they are working to redesign the underground stations of its system. They are considering multiple new concepts, and have made a video to highlight a few options they’re considering for Bethesda station. The options include an anti-slip zone at the bottom of the escalators, and replacement of the traditional “Metro Brown” with sleek metal panels. Concrete barriers will be replaced with glass ones in the mezzanine section, and the standalone pylon lights will be replaced with taller winged standards that will include PID displays.

The concepts they’re playing with are still virtual, but it will not stay that way. Look for Bethesda station to get a few of these new concepts over the next few years, with the renovations being completed in 2015. The station will also be getting new escalators during the process, so if this is a regular spot for you, it’s probably going to get delightfully inconvenient (which is not WMATA’s new slogan, even if maybe it should be.) over the next few years.

Get Out & About
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Get Out & About: The Rock Creek Park Trail

141/366 - Taft Bridge JoshBassett|PHOTOGRAPHY

As part of a new series, we’re going to be talking about some of the pedestrian and bike paths through the District and surrounding areas while it’s perfect for using them. Looking for a new place to go out, or just a reminder of some old familiar paths? We’ve got you covered. Leave suggestions for future routes in the comments.

When the biking bug bit me last year, I started asking around: where can I go ride where I won’t have to dodge cars the whole time? Some were quick to say the Capital Crescent Trail, while others suggested the Mt. Vernon Trail and the Custis Trail, and we’ll get to all of those this summer, but the one that made me fall in love with biking again was the Rock Creek Park Trail.

The trail is split into two sections: one from the District line down Beach Drive, one from Blagden Avenue down to the National Mall. Each has its moments, but they’re very different beasts.  On Saturday and Sunday, the northern section is a cyclist’s paradise, a gently sloping and curving road two lanes wide and closed to motorized traffic. You will see the spandex set climbing from Blagden Avenue northward to East-West Highway, it’s a phenomenal workout, but me, I prefer to cruise down it, having done all my climbing up Sligo Creek Parkway. The southern section is more narrow, but in my opinion, far more beautiful. Recognize, though, that this is a heavily trafficked trail, so I would not expect to get a lot of speed work done here. This is a good trail for cruising, not for booking it. It’s also a commuter route during the week, so you are

The trail itself has multiple entrances in DC, from Beach Drive at the northern end, to Military Trail NW, Blagden Avenue, and Tilden St NW in the middle, to 24th Street NW, P Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue NW at the south end, so you’ve got a lot of ins & outs if you want to work this into a regular rotation with other rides, and its accessibility from some major thoroughfares gives you options for using some of the many

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