Category Archives: The Daily Feed

The Daily Feed, We Green DC
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Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_2744’
courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

Starting today, you can tiptoe through the tulips and pick some too at America’s First Organic Tulip Festival, held an hour or so down the road in Madison, Virginia. (Charlottesville, Shenandoah National Park, and wineries are in that part of the world, too.)

Wander their 10,000 square foot garden and pick as many of their 40,000 tulips as you’d like, for $1 a stem. You can also spread out a picnic in the organic show garden, among more than 50 different types of flowers, including daffodils, alliums, grape hyacinths and irises.

What does organic mean? That they were raised pesticide-free, for a healthy plant and a healthy planet.

News, The Daily Feed, The District, The Mall
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Reflecting Pool Upgrade Scheduled To Begin In 2010

Icky Pool
Photo by Hilary Levitin

The Reflecting Pool could be closed for up to two years due to a face lift scheduled to start after this summer’s tourism season, according to the Washington Examiner.

Paths surrounding the pool were eroded over time due to an exorbitant amount of tourists and residents alike passing by on a daily basis. Plus, let’s face it, the water floating around is a less-to-be-desired cesspool at this point.

Building plans for the renovation project include adding a paved, 13-foot-wide walking path on the pool’s perimeter  and changes to the pool’s water system.

The Daily Feed
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Second Highest Ridership Day Ever for Metro Yesterday

Photo courtesy of
‘at least we’re not outside anymore!’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Think these cherry blossom tourists are crowding up the Metro even more than usual? You’re right. Metro announced today that more people rode the Metro yesterday than any other day in history, except for Obama’s Inauguration last January.  The high ridership (totaling 877,890 trips) was due to the Capitals game as well as the Cherry Blossom Festival.  Crowds are expected to continue through the weekend, particularly with the National’s exhibition game tomorrow afternoon.

If you want to keep your sanity, just avoid the Smithsonian Station for the next week or so until all the tourists head home.

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Bradley Snaps Streak; Caps Win

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_6053’
courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

Matt Bradley scored his first goal in over two months midway through the third period last night, giving the Washington Capitals the victory over the Atlanta Thrashers with a final score of 2-1. The win also puts an end to a three game slide as the Caps enter the final stretch of regular season play. Atlanta’s loss puts them just a little more behind in the scramble for an Eastern Conference playoff spot.

The game was a refreshing change of pace for the Caps, who have been outscored 9-1 in the first periods of their recent skid. Last night, Nicklas Backstrom tipped in a Mike Green slap shot from the point in the last minute of the first, giving the Caps the lead going into the first intermission. Backstrom’s goal was his 30th on the season; his previous career high was 22, just last season.

Caps goalie Semyon Varlamov made 19 saves against the anemic Atlanta offense in his first win since March 4. The Caps’ next contest is an away game in Columbus on Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Daily Feed
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Army Ten-Miler Registration Open Now

Photo courtesy of
‘Army 10 Miler – 24,000 Runners’
courtesy of ‘jdiggans’

Update: Registration is now closed. The Army Ten-Miler sold out in just over 24 hours this year, which set a new record for the race.

With the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler just around the corner next weekend, it’s time to start thinking about DC’s other great ten mile run: the Army Ten-Miler.  Registration for the October 24 race opened today and it’s expected to fill up in just a few days.  With over 24,000 runners, the Army Ten-Miler is the country’s largest ten mile race, and it’s a great course that benefits a worthy program— so sign up today!

The Daily Feed
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GMU Hosts Klingon Lecture

Photo courtesy of
‘Klingon Jail & Bail’
courtesy of ‘Uriel 1998’

As far as I can tell, this is not an April Fools’ prank. If it is, I apologize. The George Mason University Linguistics is hosting Marc Okrand, creator of the Klingon language, for a reception & lecture tomorrow night at 7. “Light refreshments” will be served. Personally, I’m hoping for a big bowl of gagh, but only if it’s fresh, or failing that, some roasted Targ.

it’s okay to call me a nerd, now. Here, I’ll just give myself a wedgie.

Entertainment, Music, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Go Appreciate Some Jazz This Month

Photo courtesy of
‘Live Jazz’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) starts today as a part of the Smithsonian Institutes’s effort to keep the art of Jazz alive and well here in its birth country.

JAM started in 2001 as an annual event that paying tribute to jazz both as a historic and living American art form. Since then, it has grown into a nationwide celebration in all 50 states plus a worldwide month of mention in 40 countries.

Events include master classes with professional Jazz musicians and composers, film screenings, jam sessions, concerts, and many more interactive activities.

Click here for a full list of the month’s events.

The Daily Feed
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Johns Hopkins Has a Little Fun

Photo courtesy of
‘Johns Hopkins at greenmount cemetery.’
courtesy of ‘hankenstein’

You’ve got to love a major university that can poke a little fun at itself on April Fools Day.  Today, the administration of Johns Hopkins University announced that they’re finally dropping the ‘s’ at the end of Johns once and for all.  Not only did they craft a nice little press release about the change (saying that they thought the extra ‘s’ was probably just a typo anyway), but they have some great photos all over their site of the ‘s’ being removed from university buildings.  My favorite has got to be the front page image.

Well played, JHU.  Anyone spot any other good local April Fools jokes out there?

The Daily Feed
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Metro Appoints Dougherty Safety Chief

Photo courtesy of
‘Train exiting – 167/365, 3/12/10’
courtesy of ‘vpickering’

It’s official: Metro has appointed James M. Dougherty of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency its new Chief Safety Officer. His first day will be April 19th, when he’ll be knee-deep in orientation to Metro.

While credited with improving SFMTA’s safety record, he’s only occupied the top safety job there for a year. He’s held safety positions with two other transit agencies before that, however, and was a police officer for 22 years.

The Daily Feed
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Buzz Bakery Goes Green for April

Photo courtesy of
‘Kermit’
courtesy of ‘NomadicLass’
So just in case you didn’t know, April is National Frog Month, and Alexandria’s Buzz Bakery is ringing it in with all the froggy food you can imagine.  Pastry Chef Josh Short has created a dessert menu that I’m sure will make you green with envy. 

With everything from iced Kermit Cookies for $2.25 each to a Frogger Pie made with an Oreo crust and crème de menthe cream for $2.95 per slice, these are just too cute to pass up.  Even better, if you pick up half a dozen iced Kermit Cookies or more, you can enter to win a brand new DVD of “The Princess and the Frog!”   You’ll definitely score points with the kiddies with that one, so make sure you stop in soon!

For more information, call 703-600-2899 (703-600-BUZZ).

The Daily Feed
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Happy Birthday, Sean Taylor. May You Rest In Peace.

Photo courtesy of
‘Sean Taylor’
courtesy of ‘Daquella manera’

Today is what should have been Sean Taylor’s 27th birthday. Taylor was murdered November 27, 2007, having died from critical injuries due to gunshots wounds from intruders who entered his Miami area home.

Taylor is remembered for his hard work as an NFL safety who played for the Washington Redskins for the duration of his four year career.

He was also posthumously inducted into the Redskins’ Ring of Fame on November 30, 2008.

The Daily Feed
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Where’s yer kilt? Everyone’s Scottish during Tartan Week!

IMG_0223
Scottish bagpipers by Corinne Whiting
Are you a fan of Irn-Bru, neeps and tatties and wee drams of whisky? Did all that sound like a load of gibberish? Nae bother. Regardless, dust off those kilts and sporrans, Tartan Week is coming our way. Sadly, Scotland Week doesn’t seem to be making too many appearances in the nation’s captial this year, but good old Alexandria will be getting in the spirit this Saturday.

On April 3 from noon to 6 p.m., a National Tartan Day Celebration takes over Market Square (at 301 King Street). Think piping, drumming, kilts, shopping and live music by The Devil’s Tailors. I, for one, cannae think of a better (free!) way to spend a sun-kissed Saturday.

The Daily Feed
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Ice Cream gluttony for a good cause

I don’t mean your own at the B&J ice cream happy hours, I mean Paul of local music duo Paul & Storm eating an entire Fudgy the Whale tonight. What started out as a stunt to get more twitter followers has turned into An Event as well as a drive to raise money for the Arlington Food Assistance Center.

And just because community service can have a personal payoff as well, local business ThinkGeek is raffling two $100 gift certificates off to everyone who contributes via the link on this page. Each $1 gets you 1 chance to win. Like a lotto scratch-off card, but with less rubbing.

Wait, that sounded dirty.

Watch the debacle live at 8pm tonight if you dare.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nationals Make Improvements Before Pre-Season Opener

Victory Knot Pretzel

Special to We Love DC by Hal Mangold

Let’s get one thing straight right now: The Washington Nationals probably aren’t going to be very good this year. They might be bearable, even fun, to watch, but expecting them to be anywhere other than knife-fighting in the basement of the NL East is probably too much to ask given the catastrophic 2009 season. I’m pretty sure the brass over at Nationals Park are well aware of this, and at the very least it looks like they’re trying to make sure that coming to DC’s temple of baseball has other attractions than what’s on the field. So it came to pass that on the stunning Spring day that was yesterday, the Nationals rolled out the PR red carpet (literally, as it happens) and guided a motley band of local TV, radio, print and online media around Nationals park to show off the new polish that’s been applied to the place. There’s something kind of magical about walking around a mostly empty ballpark, and the weather couldn’t have been better for it. Continue reading →

Adventures, Business and Money, Food and Drink, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Happy Hour

Photo courtesy of
‘mmm…free goo…’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

If you missed last week’s Free Cone Day don’t fret, because the Ben & Jerry’s in Georgetown is throwing ice cream happy hours from 4-7pm. The happy hour special is 3 scoops for a mere $3.  That’s an uber steal considering scoops normally go for $2-3 a pop.  With the fantastic sunny and warm weather predicted for the next few days, let’s trade up our HH beers for some HH Cherry Garcia.

The Daily Feed
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Spring! Outdoors! Baseball! Beer!

Photo courtesy of
‘Taking a water break’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

DANG it is gorgeous out. I could get USED to this kind of weather.

Come play outside with us on April 21. You can use your $10 food voucher for some cool beverages at the scoreboard bar. Teddy encourages this kind of behavior – see above.

Tickets are now on sale for the baseball game event taking place Wednesday, April 21 starting at 5:30 with a behind-the-scenes stadium tour at Nationals Park, followed by “Let Teddy Win” related events, and the Nats vs. the Rockies at 7:05.

The Daily Feed, We Green DC
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Two Honest Teas for One. No Foolin’.

Photo courtesy of
‘INOX #105’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

In honor of Earth Month, the Bethesda-based, sustainably-minded company Honest Tea is offering a special two-for-one coupon for its lightly sweet, organic teas. (See why the company’s “TeaEO” loves DC.)

There’s just one catch — you have to sign up for your coupon today, but you can use it any time this month. What you waiting for? Get yours now!

The Daily Feed
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Better return those grow lights…

Photo courtesy of
‘monkey in the jungle’
courtesy of ‘nicasaurusrex’

City Council has been hammering out the rules related to medical marijuana, and it doesn’t look like DC residents are going to get the right to cultivate at home, at least not for a while. (There goes my plan for my new backyard!)

The bill under consideration by the Council allows DC residents with a specific list of medical conditions to possess up to 2 ounces per month, which the Examiner reports is enough for “about a joint a day.” The bill does provide for a committee to study the home cultivation question and make a recommendation to the Council by 2012.

The Daily Feed
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Brown Kiwi Born at National Zoo


Brown Kiwi
Originally uploaded by Smithsonian’s National Zoo

If there is one thing that we love at We Love DC, aside from DC itself, it’s cute baby animals. This little baby kiwi bird was hatched at the zoo on Tuesday. Isn’t it totally adorable? I know that I’m having a really difficult day here thanks to some jerks at Comcast, and this baby bird made me go awwwww just a little bit. Better yet? there’s video of it pecking out through its shell.