Author Archive
Arrivederci, DC: Bucket List
Driving back into the city after a week of being in Upstate New York, I soak in that familiar feeling of relief. Ah, back in the District and thank goodness. No other city can quite shake its tail-feathers like DC at night. You look down the avenues and spy the Capitol Dome illuminated as if [...]
More »The Wait, What? I’m Lost Symbol
I see the future, I bend my thought to it: millions turning to these words and taking meaning from them, imbuing them with personal meaning; individuals comprehending “untold” mysteries written secretively in every building; a double decker bus with a speaker, the supreme leader shouting interpretations through the streets. That’s right, I see… The Lost [...]
More »Sweet Sidewalk Art Won’t Help American Auto Industry
Outside of the Union Station metro exit right now there is a man putting the finishing touches on a pretty banging chalk drawing and optical illusion. The sidewalk drawing, which the man said he designed himself by hand, makes it seem like there is an illuminated open precipice in the cement floor. The drawing is [...]
More »The Lost Symbol: Tomorrow
‘Mona Lisa’
courtesy of ‘Michael_Lehet’
One of the most anticipated books of the fall, a book that could perhaps give declining book sales a legitimate bump, is out tomorrow. It’s Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol, which follows the main character of his previous hits The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons through a new mystery, which [...]
Little Miss Whiskey’s Golden Dollar
From the outside, the rowhouse-turned-bar has purposefully little to draw the attention of the casual passerby. Only the purple halo of light around the front window and red-lit address — 1104 — hints that something’s going on there that wasn’t before. Stepping inside however, is like a trip down the rabbit hole: violet light seeps [...]
More »Rahm Reads to Kids at DOE
Oh Rahm, you hilarious, mythic, foulmouthed, ballerina and chief of staff… is it possible for you to be more endearing? Rahm Emanuel takes part in the U.S. Department of Education’s Read to the Top program, reading Doreen Cronin’s “Duck for President” to a group of kiddies at the DOE. I think there were as many [...]
More »Read For Me a Line of Poesy
‘jro @ train of thought, in train of thought.’
courtesy of ‘It’s Holly’
This Sunday night, Big Bear cafe will host its monthly poetry reading – a series called “Cheryl’s Gone.” The event, which begins at 6 p.m., will feature poets Zachary Schomberg, Emily Kendal Frey, and Joe Hall. Schomberg and Frey both hail from Portland, Oregon, [...]
We Love Arts: La Bohème
It’s not quite Rent, but its certainly not your grandmother’s Puccini, either. Wolf Trap Opera Company’s one-night staging of La bohème fell somewhere inbetween classical and modern — with the occasional wink at the post-modern — with its multi-media presentation of the opera set in Brooklyn, NY. Director Kevin Newbury’s treatment of Puccini’s immensely popular [...]
More »We Love Arts: Living Dead in Denmark
Zombies…so hot right now.
No, really. If there is a pop culture meme that has taken the arts and culture world by the throat in the past eighteen months, its the resurrection (puns absolutely intended) of the Zombie. The New York Times stretched, a bit hilariously, to attribute the rise of the Zombie to the recent [...]
Last Chance to Join Potomac Wiffleball League
‘Wiffle ball’
courtesy of ‘DRB62′
When it comes to DC summer sports, you’ve got your kickball, you’ve got your softball, you’ve got your frisbee and you’ve even got your bocce ball. And, I just found out today, apparently you’ve also got your Wiffleball (?!?). Sure, why not. The Potomac Wiffleball league starts up its summer run this [...]
Bluegrass Bonus Monday
For those of you who can’t get enough bluegrass in your life, when banjo thursdays at SOVA Wine and Espresso just aren’t enough, there is tonight at Velvet Lounge. SOVA perennial performers Extension Agents will be performing tonight at the Velvet Lounge tonight, preceded by the Hangin’ Rounders and followed by an open jam session. [...]
More »Terribly Offensive Cultish Campaign Set Up on Penn.
“Is that a picture of Obama with a Hitler mustache?” Why yes, it is. One of many delightful images being displayed at La Rouche PAC’s table setup at 3rd and Penn this afternoon. There, they were handing out pamphlets entitled “Act Now to Stop Obama’s Nazi Health Plan” and asking passers-by “When did Obama [...]
More »Save Our Safety Net: Petition Call
Bread for the City and the Coalition for Community Investment have teamed up to launch the new website Save our Safety Net.com and get the word out about the ramifications of proposed District budget cuts. DC is almost $200 million in debt, a severe problem for the future growth and health of the district. However, [...]
More »Wolf Trap Opera: Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria
It’s a July evening and at Wolf Trap’s colonial-era barns, Claudio Monteverdi’s 1640 opera Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria (The Return of Ulysses) is being performed. Despite the historicity of the place, the opera and its performance by the Wolf Trap Opera company has a decidedly contemporary feel. Everything the modern viewer loves — romance, [...]
More »Sewall-Belmont House Features Changemaking Artists
If you’re a DC feminist and you haven’t yet visited the Sewall-Belmont House I have two things to say to you: 1. For shame! The Sewall-Belmont house is a historical building and museum that once housed the suffragettes during the early twentieth century, back when it was still illegal for women to chill in hotels [...]
More »We Love Arts: Jim Reed, Stormchaser
For city dwellers and even for suburbanites, the weather is like a hallway — we pass through it, briefly and hurriedly on our way to our destination. Weather is something that comes across out path through desktop clients and Blackberry applications, something we endure between the house and our car, or from the metro and [...]
More »Yes, You Do Need an Umbrella
‘the red umbrella’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99′
You’re standing at the door, on your way out to head to work. It’s overcast and you’re having that ages-old debate with yourself. If your roommate/partner/dog is within shouting distance, you might turn to them, otherwise you’ll just say it out loud. “Do I need an Umbrella?” Have no fear, extremely [...]
Mystics Down Sacramento for Back-to-Back Home Wins
‘Mystics post-game 7/18/09′
courtesy of ‘caciadoodl’
In their longest stretch at home this season, Mystics play was a show of the mostly good, the sort of bad and the sporadically ugly. Last night the team (9-7) defeated the Sacramento Monarchs, 87-73. Crystal Langhorne continued to shine in her sophomore season, leading the team with 19 points. In this [...]
Who doesn’t love Gargoyles?
‘St. Patrick’s Church – Cornered – 3-4-09′
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’
They’re so cute and evil! They’re so… Hunchback of Notre Dame. Or Batman Returns. They kind of remind me of Dobby in Harry Potter. Alright, you can project your own pop culture references onto these little guys when you go on the National Cathedral Gargoyle tour. Admission is [...]
Getaways: Monticello
“I am as happy no where else and in no other society, and all my wishes end, where I hope my days will end, at Monticello.” –Thomas Jefferson, 1787
Strolling the grounds of one of America’s most famous homesteads, with its tidy green spaces and views of the Blue Ridge Mountains stretching out from either side, [...]
