By Kirk
‘Fireworks’
courtesy of ‘randomduck’
WAPO reports that the fireworks displays at Nats Park were suspended by DC Fire Chief Dennis Rubin after ash fell on him while he attended a game. While he was not injured, and there have been no fire concerns up to this point, the Chief wishes to conduct a safety review before the displays are reinstated. If this seems a little asinine, let’s be honest: at this point, the Nationals don’t really deserve fireworks, anyways.
‘Marriage Is a Civil Right’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’
Harvey Milk-protege Cleve Jones is planning a march on Washington for gay rights on October 11th, National Coming Out Day.
While I wish Jones well, and suppose that a national day of protest in DC would be a good rallying point/photo op for gay rights supporters, I’m also kind of shrugging my shoulders. I mean, look how successful the ANSWER, Code PINK, and March for Life protests have been. (That was sarcasm, in case you couldn’t tell.)
But in any case, I’m confident that the home of the Dupont Circle drag races and Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend will give our protesting guests a warm welcome, no matter how ministers from Maryland feel about them.
By Katie
‘Vapiano’
courtesy of ‘ellievanhoutte’
The The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington awards (RAMMY’s) were held last night, announcing the cream of the crop of DC restaurants. Here are the highlights:
Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year: Restaurant Eve
2009 Chef of the Year: Robert Wiedmaier of Marcel’s, Brasserie Beck and Brabo
New Restaurant of the Year: Cork
Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year: Rasika
Neighborhood Gathering Place: The Liberty Tavern
Hottest Restaurant Bar Scene: CoCo. Sala
Rising Culinary Star: Tony Chittum of Vermilion
Congratulations to all the RAMMY winners!
By jasmine
‘Wilson Bridge’
courtesy of ‘volcanojw’
The Woodrow Wilson Bridge opened to cyclists for the first time this weekend, but many coming from the Alexandria side ran into some trouble once they actually got over the bridge. One cyclist told me that the trail turned into gravel on the MD side, and the planners of the brand new National Harbor had apparently not thought to install a single bike rack: there were bikes anchored to every sign and handrail this weekend.
The Washington Post had some reactions in yesterday’s paper, with the conclusion being that now that they had successfully gotten the bridge open, now they needed to connect the trails so that people would actually use it.
By Max
Yes, it’s (99.999%) true, the Real World is coming to Dupont. I think I’m in the minority when I say that I honestly don’t mind if they shoot in my neighborhood, a mere few blocks from my house. I watched the show when it first came out and thought it was entertaining, and I’m curious to see how they portray DC and Dupont in particular. Rest assured, we here at We Love DC will have plenty to say about it when it hits the airwaves.
But please, please, please, stay away from my beloved Le Pain Quotidien which, according to a sign out front this morning, looks to be opening Real Soon at 20th & P. I want to eat my steel cut oatmeal with fresh berries in peace. I don’t want a camera crew swarming around as I try to enjoy my organic parmesan and pesto omelette. LPQ isn’t about drama, it’s about pretending you’re better than those who are eating factory farmed mystery meat at the Florida Avenue Grill. Oh, and don’t mess with that place either, Real World Productions. Just stick to Starbucks, the Russia House, and Timberlake’s and everything will be just fine.
By Tom Bridge
‘122’
courtesy of ‘Dear, max’
Okay, imagine twenty of your DC coworkers or friends.
Five to ten of them get absolutely blitzed on the weekend. Two or three of them smoke weed. One of them uses Cocaine. Don’t call me Kreskin, I swear, it’s Science, there’s a graph and everything.
Yep, here in DC, apparently to go with everything else, we like to get high (5th in the nation), go crazy on coke (1st in the Nation, Marion would be so proud.) and get plowed playing flipcup. Just remember that before you head out tonight. The shuddering stops eventually, too. Even if you figured it was the mail room guy.
By Tom Bridge
2000 S St via Google Maps
Wonkette says they got a tip that 2000 S St NW is the location of the DC Real World House. We’re hearing on pretty decent authority that’s going to be the spot where a bunch of people “get real”. And by “get real” I mean be hipster douchebags with TV crews stalking them. Y’know, the usual fake-ass shenanigans that the Real World TV series is based around.
So, avoid 2000 S Street and anything within a mile radius. Or, basically, this:
Update From the Field:
One of We Love DC’s friends walked by the house this afternoon, and caught a few details that would indicate that this in fact the Real World House: Workmen had papered up all the windows (usually not done in general home contracting), a workman in a uniform shirt marked CINE walked into the house while our friend was there, and in additional a few of the nearby Vans had permits displayed for Television & Film expiring around 20 June 09 (the rumored start date), issued to “RW Productions” which would lead us to think that it’s right on target.
Of course, the house apparently didn’t look like anything special on the inside, our friend said, and if that’s the case, a two-week lead time might not be enough to pimp out the house. We shall soon see.
By Katie
‘IMG_0224’
courtesy of ‘David.R.Carroll’
Leather, pleather, and drag queens, oh my! I think it must be time for Capital Pride. The weekend’s festivities kick off tonight at Cobalt (oh, Cobalt…I feel the exact same way about you Meg S. does…) with the Mr. and Ms. Capital Pride Leather contest. That sounds almost as good as the High Heel Race, really…
Tomorrow, Town, Nellie’s and Phase 1 will be hopping with happy hours and events, and there are plenty of educational opportunities. Sunday rounds out the weekend with a 5k and a night with the Mystics. The rest of the week is smattered with some auctions, an interfaith service, and a pride shabbat. Check the full schedule for all the details. Oh, and did I forget to mention Ru Paul will be around? How could I?
By Donna C.
‘DSC_0132’
courtesy of ‘chrismeller’
Tomorrow’s supposed to be beautiful — and it’s National Trails Day, with a variety of hikes and trail maintenance events in and around town.
Among the other fun (and useful) choices is a journey to Ice Mountain, where you can find ice even in the summer; locals once used it to make ice cream and lemonade. You need a guide to visit this Nature Conservancy land in West Virginia that’s about 2 hours away, and a day trip leaves Arlington tomorrow morning (it’s course # 643741A).
In all my years hiking this area, I’ve never heard of Ice Mountain before, but it sounds cool (yeah, ha, ha). Happy trails!
By Katie
‘U.S. Air Force Memorial & the Pentagon’
courtesy of ‘william couch’
A few weeks ago, I enthusiastically waxed poetic about the merits of the DC Beer Map. So when reader and tweeter emvii sent me the Washingtonian Cheap Eats 2009 on a Google map, it was right up my alley.
So here is the deal about this glorious map: It is a map of the 100 Best Cheap Eats in DC, identified by Washingtonian Magazine, tasted and rated by the mysterious unidentified map builders the wonderful peeps over at the DC baking blog Pete Bakes, and then sorted and color coded into green (good), yellow (fine) and red (don’t).
YAY! I LOVE IT! Whoever did this, Pete Bakes, let me tell you, you made my day yesterday. I talked about this to at least 10 people. I love it when food and technology combine in map form. Brilliant. Good on you!
By Kirk
‘Hollywood east’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
The stars will be falling on DC over the next 14 weeks as a romantic comedy (bleh) is filmed in Adams Morgan, Penn Quarter and DuPont. The Examiner reports that Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, and Reese Witherspoon will be staring in the as of yet unnamed movie. The directors state that they were drawn to their filming locations by the unique architecture of the city. Sets will focus more on the internal neighborhoods and less on DC’s monuments and iconic buildings. Filming is set to begin on June 14 at Nationals Park. Supposedly, they’re looking for extras and local production assistants.
By Max
Scootergate 4 by spoffy
This is it scooter fans, the weekend we’ve been waiting for. Scootergate 4 has finally arrived! The festivities kick off at 5pm at The Pug where you can register ($25 cash) if you haven’t done so already online. What do you get with your registration? A whole slew of things including a ticket to the Rock and Roll Hotel show Saturday night, a rally bag, a rally patch, a t-shirt, a bunch of coupons, a raffle ticket, and food. Hell, I’d pay $25 for the t-shirt alone! Today’s Seattle-like weather is supposed to subside as the day goes on so hopefully it will be prime weather for the late night ride of DC movie hotspots.
By Katie
‘Every Food Fits: Grillin’ Like a Villain!’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’
Good morning, Washington! Did you have your free donut yet, today? It’s been a busy foodie news week, and for once I’m actually rested while putting it together. So, all the news that is fit to eat in the district, from the “flagal” to new chefs, and new menus. Let’s do it. Continue reading
By Tom Bridge
‘Helga with a heart’
courtesy of ‘helgasms!’
Well, it should be singular, but I guess in the collective, it’s okay to pluralize in exchange for the better sounding headline? Kaspar? What say you? So, despite the rain, it’s National Donut Day, which means that Krispy Kreme is giving away a donut to everyone today, and that Dunkin Donuts is giving away a free donut with purchase of any beverage. So, warm up your sugar processing engines and head out for a donut. Here’s the Dunkin Store Finder and the Krispy Kreme Finder so you can see where to run to.
By Tom Bridge
Title Card 2
Originally uploaded by tbridge
It was a great game. Yes, that was probably ball four to Dunn in the eighth inning, but let me back up. The eighth was very nearly it for the Giants. It was a tight game, and the mistakes that Medders make against to Nieves were complicated by the walk to Nick Johnson by Affeldt. Wilson coming in and walking Zimmerman just seemed like the death knell for 300. It was excruciating. With the weather and the early start, only 5,000 people made it to the game, but each and every one of them was glued to this game like it was game seven of the World Series, and this was the bottom of the ninth. With the score close,and Johnson’s win hanging in the balance, even the Nationals were rooting for Wilson to retire Adam Dunn. Dunn’s been lethal this year with the bases juiced, with a grand slam in five at-bats, plus a total of eight RBI. But there we were, with a full count, and Randy Johnson’s 300th win on the line. A walk, and that’s the ballgame for most of the fans still sitting in the rain. A hit, and that’s the ballgame. Strike 3 is pretty much the only option. Wilson wound up and fired it in there. A long pause.
It was low, but Dunn made the mistake of showing up the home plate umpire, and chucking his bat toward the dugout and started walking. The umpire took a stutterstep backwards and rung him up, strike 3. Dunn made a show of arguing, but it was no use. The Giants went back to the dugout, and ran up three runs on Joel Hanrahan in the ninth, making the rest academic. 300 wins. The only regret that I have about the game was that there was no curtain call for Johnson. The crowd was on their feet after each inning, but a final thank you would’ve been welcome. I’m told Johnson was eloquent and effusive in the press conference, and I’m sure of it. Johnson commands respect on and off the mound, and his grace is not surprising, but to be respected. If you look at the current list of pitchers in pursuit of 300, only Andy Petitte is the only one with half a shot, which is hard to imagine. No one else, within a generation, is close to the big 300, at least, not close enough to be assured of it.
I’m glad to have been there tonight, and I’ll put my scoresheet up on the wall with what’s left of my rainsoaked ticket.
By Kirk
‘wavy train’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
It seems that a body was discovered at the Franconia-Springfield metro station, earlier this afternoon. A Metro employee found Dennis Howard dead in a restroom. Police are operating under the assumption that he died of natural causes. Service was not disrupted by the incident.
By Donna C.
‘Leaf after the Rain’
courtesy of ‘nightmareguitars’
This just in: a fun idea for escaping tonight’s spring showers.
There’s an inaugural networking event tonight for The DC Green Connection at DC Bread & Brew near Dupont Circle, 1247 20th St. NW, from 7:30-9:30 p.m.
It’ll feature a short talk on Mayor Fenty’s new Green DC agenda, thoughts on what being a green restaurant means, and the chance to try a new organic vodka line. Appetizers and drink specials are part of it too, all for $10 worth of green.
By Tom Bridge
‘091208- Mike Daisey @ TBA 1b’
courtesy of ‘djbrokenwindow’
Mike Daisey’s back at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre for a one-night-only Sneak Peek at The Last Cargo Cult. I love the concept of Cargo Cults, and I’ve been told I owe Mike a look, so it seems that this might be the time to do it, as seats are just $15 for the show on June 15th at 7pm.
By jasmine
”
courtesy of ‘toolmantim’
Via Facebook, I’ve been following the adventures of a high school friend who is enrolled in trapeze school. Every couple of days she posts new pictures of herself engaging in some astonishing midair feat, and it always gives me a welcome couple minutes of respite to daydream about the circus in the middle of my day. I had started hearing rumblings that we were getting a trapeze school here in DC. I looked into it, and the Trapeze School of New York was looking for a location for their DC branch, so I held off blogging about.
Well. Guys, we’re getting a TRAPEZE SCHOOL. The school’s temporary location will be outdoors, at 9th and H Streets NW, near Gallery Place. That means you can go over there and watch trapeze class- it’s visible from the street. I have just found my new entertainment. They’re hoping to secure a permanent location in the next few months near Nationals Park.
I welcome this development wholeheartedly. DC needs more stuff like this. Trapeze School Founder Jonathon Conant says, “Beneath the surface, trust me, DC is a lot weirder than everyone thinks.” Truer words were never spoken.
Classes start this weekend. YES!
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