The Daily Feed

The WLDC Sports Ticker – January 12

Photo courtesy of
‘Brought to you by ESPN’
courtesy of ‘Tony DeFilippo’

Welcome to our own little DC-SPN weekly gimmick, the sports ticker. Don’t have time for a full gamer or time to keep up on some of the offseason or lesser known sports around town? We’ve got your back with some quick hits below. In addition, before we start, check the best betting sites with free bets here and become one of the few persons who have enjoyed free bets. Continue reading

The Daily Feed

Lit Geeks Need Love Too

Photo courtesy of
‘Glen Echo #12’
courtesy of ‘andertho’

If yesterday’s snowfall left you longing for a cuddle buddy, then it’s time to get your date on. The activity-based online dating site How About We… is hosting a singles book swap tonight at the 14th Street location of Busboys and Poets at 7 p.m. The invitation encourages guests to “pick up a paperback and see who else finds Nabakov (or Where’s Waldo?) sexy.” Here’s a helpful tip: no one finds Where’s Waldo? sexy. If that’s the tome you plan on bringing, you might want to dig a little deeper in your library.

What, “Hemingway, so hot right now” doesn’t strike  you as the world’s greatest pick up line? Don’t worry, liquid courage will be available, which should make any literary line seem infinitely more clever. Just don’t quote Mein Kampf. Also never sexy.

The Daily Feed

Help needy families this week

Photo courtesy of
‘Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. [Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking.], 08/28/1963.’
courtesy of ‘The U.S. National Archives’

Serve DC is working this week to gather donations of household supplies, from soap to trash bags to sponges to dish towels.  Serve DC will be helping out local families in need with Transitional Housing Corporation on Monday as part of the Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday day of service in the District.  You can drop off donations at the Serve DC headquarters at the Reeves Center at 14th and U Streets NW in Suite 101.  Full list of what they’re looking for is after the cut. All donations need to be in their original packaging.

Continue reading

The Daily Feed

Ovie, Greenie named NHL All-Stars – Semin snubbed?

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_6120.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

This was predictable.

Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green are NHL All-Stars. Should the Capitals have had some more? Well, perhaps there is this one guy . . .

At one point this year it seemed like Alexander Semin was a no-brainer All-Star. Through November he was by far the MVP of the Capitals and it looked like in a contract year he was going to play motivated hockey. He was hitting, he was moving his feet and most importantly, he was lighting the lamp.

But then Bad Sasha showed up.

Continue reading

The Daily Feed

Comedy showcase and fire relief fundraiser

Chris Barylick’s Comedy in Clarendon is throwing the “Help Brad Ryan’s Family Showcase” at the Eleventh Street Lounge this Thursday from 8:30 to 11:30 to help out a fellow comic.

Brad Ryan’s house recently caught fire, which is not funny, but we can all laugh about the fun times we had raising money for the guy by checking out the show and making a monetary donation. Date idea: This is the perfect opportunity to show your loved one that you enjoy the arts and also give to the needy. I want to kiss you just thinking about it.

Comics include Reggie Melbrough, Emily Ruskowski, Mike Finazzo and Martin Plant.

The Daily Feed

GQ Shines a Bright Light on Washington

GQ's Washington DC

Ah, there’s nothing like a good joke at the expense of politicians, is there?  GQ would agree and has this lovely map which features delightful names for places we all know and love.  Like calling K Street the “Grass-Roots Funding Avenue,” and the Verizon Center “where white and black people come together”.

There’s nothing quite like New Yorkers telling us what we should call our city, is there? It would’ve been nice if they’d at least given the map some local color, but apparently like all New Yorkers, the only part of DC that matters to GQ is the federal part. Next time, GQ, maybe take a look at the rest of the city?

The Daily Feed

A Message From Janet Jackson

As you may have heard by now, Washington DC has been voted by fans as one of thirty-five cities around the planet to play host to an intimate concert by Janet Jackson. On March 22nd at DAR Constitution Hall Janet will perform all of the songs from her singles collection, “Number Ones”. For Janet Jackson fans this will be the concert of a lifetime. Even my old school “Rhythm Nation”-loving self is getting pretty excited!

What you may not have heard about yet is Ms. Jackson’s invitation to nominate 20 young leaders from the DC area to receive the VIP treatment at the show as a reward for their contributions to the community. I think I’ll let Janet explain it herself:

“In each city I want to meet 20 young leaders who are changing their communities for the better. Please contact janetjackson.com so that I will know who is making a major difference in your city. I’m asking my fans and their friends, Parents, relatives, neighbors and teachers to nominate five people to qualify as one of the 20 under 20 in each place I will perform. At each concert the 20 people chosen and the person who nominated them will be VIP guests at my show. I will invite the 20 sponsors and the 20 winners to the concert and backstage. There are many young people changing the world and I want them to be recognized during my tour. I want them to be my guest at my show and they will come backstage as I learn from them how young people are changing the world. You all know someone who is making a difference, so get in touch. I love you all and I can’t wait to be back on stage, I’ve missed you,” –Janet

Wait, the sponsor gets to go too? Does anyone have a spare over-achieving nephew, niece, son, or daughter that I can borrow on March 22nd?

The Daily Feed, Ward 5

Dispatches from Ward 5: McMansion Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘From Brookland with Love’
courtesy of ‘mediaslave’

The big excitement this week (aside from all the posturing around the At-Large interim council appointment) was on the Brookland list,  and started to spill over to the Ward 5 list. Two separate properties were identified by neighbors as “McMansions” (though I think that’s only a fair epithet for one of them- the other one is more “bad faux Victorian”), and a veritable tidal wave of accusations of zoning/permitting violations, damage to neighbors properties, etc. was poured out onto the list. Continue reading

The Daily Feed

Hot Ticket: The Ghost Of A Sabertooth Tiger @ IOTA Cafe 1/11/11

Preview by guest writer Alexia Kauffman.

The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger is the latest musical project of Sean Lennon, this time collaborating with his model girlfriend Charlotte Kemp Muhl. Those of you acquainted with Lennon’s solo work will find him in familiar territory, still playing in the psychedelic daydream world, but with lovely vocal harmonies and eye candy provided by Charlotte Kemp Muhl. Listening to their single Jardin du Luxembourg one gets the feeling of being at a picnic in the Paris park, with parasols and a penny-farthing bicycle in tow.

Julianna Barwick will be opening for the super-duo at IOTA this Tuesday. Barwick provides ethereal, ghostly experimental vocal music. On her recordings you’ll find lots of layered vocal tracks, heavy with reverb and echoes. Live there will be a lot of looping involved. To imagine her sound, think of a solo, girl version of Sigur Ros. She may be from Brooklyn, not Reykjavik, but listening to the music you could be standing on a foggy, cold Scandinavian pier, watching through the haze for the fishing boats to come in.

The Ghost of a Sabertooth Tiger
w/ Julianna Barwick
@ IOTA Club & Café
1/11/11 – 8:30pm
$15

The Daily Feed, WTF?!

Light Snow Expected Tomorrow

Photo courtesy of
‘big step’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Expect the grocery stores to be packed to the gills tonight and the dairy and bread cases empty. Why? Well, the powers that be in the Weather world are predicting 1-4″ of snow.  While those of us who’ve been here more than just a couple minutes know this isn’t the end of the world, that won’t prevent us from acting like we don’t need more toilet paper tonight.  But, here’s what the weather gurus we like and trust are saying:

Continue reading

Dupont Circle, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed

Yola: Yogurt Parfait Bar Opens

Photo courtesy of
‘Chalkboard detail, Yola’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

We all know about the proliferation of frozen yogurt spots in DC over the past few years, and frankly I’ve gotten bored with them – especially now in the winter when my chattering teeth can’t take it. So I was intrigued when invited to a media preview of a new yogurt place that serves up it fresh instead.

Yola is a “fresh yogurt parfait bar” in Dupont Circle started up by Laura Smith, Owner and Food Director, and her father David Smith, as a way of highlighting the fresh yogurt and smoothie bars Laura had enjoyed in Europe. Though at first glance it looks like any frozen yogurt bar, with the usual bins of fresh fruit and crunchy toppings, the yogurt selections are all made fresh by two local family farms – Blue Ridge Dairy in Leesburg, VA and Trickling Springs Creamery in Chambersburg, PA. Blue Ridge supplies Yola with both thick Greek-style yogurt and regular low-fat yogurts like honey and vanilla, while Trickling Springs goes for flavors such as maple or the old-reliable chocolate.

I felt instantly Yola was going to become a favorite breakfast haunt of mine. It just has a cute, friendly vibe.

Continue reading

The Daily Feed, Ward 6, WMATA, WTF?!

A difficult morning on Capitol Hill

Photo courtesy of
‘good morning’
courtesy of ‘volcanojw’

If you can avoid Capitol Hill for the next few hours, you probably should.

A woman was found dead inside a burning car on the 800 block of A Street SE in the 5:00 hour this morning. The car was fully engulfed when DC Fire & EMS arrived, and it was only after the fire was put out that the woman’s body was found. It seems like the car may have crashed into the garage at a low speed to start the fire. The investigation is ongoing.

A suspicious package was found outside the Capitol South metro station this morning. Metro trains are passing through the station without stopping.

So if you can adjust your business this morning to not include Capitol Hill, I recommend that you do it. Stay out of the way while police do their jobs and save yourself the frustration of navigating around them while they do it.

The Daily Feed

Capitals grind away Panthers, win 3-2

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_6428.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’

The Capitals are not playing pretty hockey.

But, when it comes to end results, it has been effective hockey.

The first period against the Panthers on Saturday night at Verizon Center was atrocious. Washington played a cute but ultimately inefficient style of hockey for the first 20 minutes before grinding through the final two periods to seal a 3-2 victory over Florida.

For most of the night actually, the Capitals were almost laughably bad. Drop passes turned into self-zone clears. Back passes turned into partial Panther breaks and rushes. Giveaways were rampant (12 on the night against the Panthers three) and play was overall sloppy. It was not one of the beautiful games.

Continue reading

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed

Coach Saunders Uses Viral Video To Inspire Wizards In Victory Over Nets

Andray Blatche’s new haircut (photo Patrick Pho)

Earlier this week we said that Andray Blatche was growing malcontent. He’s slumping, the center of trade rumors, and hasn’t been winning fans over.

He didn’t act like that during warm-ups last night.

Sporting his crazy new ‘do he warmed up today all smiles. He laughed with players and in a moment of playfulness gave his basketball to a girl on the sidelines and asked her to inbound it back to him. The energy appeared to be infectious amongst the team as the Wizards trounced all over the New Jersey Nets 97-77.

Where did this newfound energy come from? Would you believe a viral video?

Continue reading

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, We Love Drinks

Friday Happy Hour: Fool’s Warmth

"Fool's Warmth" cocktail, Proof

Yay, we’re resuscitating our Friday Happy Hour, highlighting a drink we’ve recently enjoyed, every Friday at 4pm! Please share your favorites as well.

Is it really just a week since New Year’s Eve? Sigh. 2011 is upon us and most of DC is back at work hard. It’s cold and snow may be on the way. Does this mean no more bubbly? Hell, no!

I’ve got a mania for champagne cocktails, and over at Proof you can try a very wintery combination by Adam Bernbach, poetically named Fool’s Warmth. Though you might think it’s a hot toddy, both from the title and some of the ingredients – honey syrup and lemon juice – it’s actually a cold sparkler with a base of Champagne and Calvados apple brandy, plus the classic champagne cocktail component of Angostura bitters. Just the right balance of mellow sweet and tart, it was perfect on a chilly winter’s night (especially after having my system shocked by seeing Black Swan).

A golden, fizzy apple love. That warms me up.

The Daily Feed

Hot Ticket: Anamanaguchi @ Black Cat 1/9/11

Anamanaguchi - Dawn Metropolis

Anamanaguchi are returning to the Black Cat Backstage this Sunday with their signature brand of punk/power-pop.  Oh, and they’re bringing their hacked Nintendo.

Anamanaguchi are quickly becoming one of the most infamous “chiptunes” bands around.  In the past year, they’ve composed the soundtracks to video games including Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game, and are slated to appear in the next version of Rock Band.  They also grabbed minor media attention for holding a vigil in support of Four Loko in NYC last November.

When I imagine a chiptunes concert, I usually think of scrawny high-schoolers bent over their Gameboys, with pixelated graphics running on a projecter.  However, Anamanaguchi bring a ton of energy to their live show; the drums are front-and-center, and the Nintendo blends with the guitar lines, rather than sticking out as a gimmick.  These guys have a ton of positive energy; it’s like a re-imagined Weezer.  You’ll leave with a smile on your face.

Anamanaguchi
w/ Club Scout
Sunday, Jan. 9
@ Black Cat Backstage
$10