By Tom Bridge
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Metro Emergency Button by Mr. T in DC
By now, I am certain that you have seen the video, or heard about the incident that took place at L’Enfant Metro this past weekend, where a man was beaten by a group of teenagers while they took video of the incident. Metro has now issued a statement after the fact condemning the incident. It’s after the break. Continue reading
Wherever you are in the country or the world, if you are having a conversation about Ska music, and Washington DC comes up, it is a sure thing that The Pietasters will be the first band to be mentioned. Cranking out “DC’s finest ska” since the early 1990s, The Pietasters toured hard for years as an opening band for every punk/ska revival act or music legend that would have them (they even backed for James Brown!), all the while perfecting their soulful Ska sound and earning their stripes. These days The Pietasters are one of Ska’s most respected groups and known to the world as the face of DC Ska.
I saw The Pietasters more times than I can count back in the 90’s. I think the last time I saw them was in 2000(?) opening for Joe Strummer in Philadelphia. As always the guys put on a fantastic set of rudie anthems showing the Philly ska/punks how it’s done down in DC. I lost track of The Pietasters after that for several years. So imagine my surprise when the older, wiser, and ruder-than-ever Pietasters showed up at the 9:30 Club 30th Anniversary Concert last year and treated the crowd to a tight-as-hell mini-set! It was great to see the guys again! They worked the room like pros and sounded fantastic! I expect more of the same out of them this Saturday night, when they will be headlining the best reggae/punk/ska party in town!
The Pietasters
w/ HR of Bad Brains, Copstabber, and The Shifters
Saturday, Jan. 8
@ 9:30 Club
$15
By Ashley
‘Big Cheese truck’
courtesy of ‘BrianMKA’
Happy Friday everyone. It might be kind of cold and yucky out today, but after this week’s hooha with the police, help your local food trucks out and keep their lines long.
By Tom Bridge
Meet Sekou Biddle, who will take the oath of office as DC’s newest At-Large councilmember. Don’t remember voting for or against Mr. Biddle? No surprise there, he was selected by the DC Democratic State Committee, literally in a backroom (a kitchenette, actually) at about 9pm last night. Why did this happen? In short, because the electoral system of the District of Columbia makes about as much sense as a paper bag full of ninjas wielding salamis.
When DC selected Kwame Brown to be the new chair of the city council this November, the DCDSC were placed in charge of replacing Mr. Brown until such time as his successor could be elected (currently scheduled for April 26th) and, because they chose not to listen to our little reality show idea, they let 74 people whose selection to the committee is of unclear provenance vote in quasi-secret ballots to select Mr. Biddle.
Thursday night was a sausage-making affair the likes of wish you’d hope not to see in the Nation’s Capital, but it makes the council whole again, and Mr. Biddle carried the endorsement of a number of sitting councilmembers. Biddle currently serves as a Ward 4 Board of Education member.
Congratulations on your new job, Mr. Councilman.
By Tom Bridge
Recycling Water Bottles by Mr. T in DC
Late yesterday, DC Water General Manager George S. Hawkins sent a letter to Speaker Boehner accompanied by ten reusable water bottles. The message was clear: You’re looking to save money, cutting bottled water would save almost $800,000 a year from Congress’ staffs.
While I’m fairly sure that the message fell on deaf ears on the Hill, it’s good to see DC Water ponying up with a few good ideas for saving money. We’ve gone to just filtering DC Water at home, and love it. When cases of bottled water keep rising in price, we’re paying just pennies on the dollar.
By Tom Bridge
‘Raffle Donation’
courtesy of ‘DC Central Kitchen’
First off, a note. Last week, WLDC readers bought raffle tickets to benefit DC Central Kitchen. This morning, We Love DC and So What’s the Deal presented DCCK with a check for over $1,600. If that doesn’t give you a warm fuzzy, I don’t know what to tell you. Thanks for all who donated.
There’s a special kind of magic that happens when three dudes get drunk one night and decide that what their town really needs is an entertainment apocalypse.
At least, I am assuming that copious alcohol consumption was involved in the conception of RagnaROCK, the latest production from the minds of Tyler Sonnichsen, Evan Valentine, and Christopher Brooks.
I’m not saying this as a bad thing, not at all. It just seems that taking some comedy (Valentine, Sonnichsen, and Jake Young), some hip-hop (City Lights, featuring Brooks and Maurice Lowe), and deciding that what that show really needs is a performance of a song-sketch about the Norse God Thor being banished from Valhalla to an East Coast city and trying to fit in with the locals… well, I’m just saying that might require the addition of some kind of intoxicant.
Did I mention that this will be the first time “THOR!!!” will be performed in 2 years? Well, now you know.
As a fan of Sonnichsen and Young generally, of course, I think you should check this out. Really, don’t miss “THOR!!!’s” triumphant return.
The show will be performed on Friday and Saturday nights next week, January 14-15, at the DC Arts Center in Adams Morgan. Tickets are $10.
By Tom Bridge
‘Vacation in a Cup!’
courtesy of ‘Phaesia2011’
The word spread over Twitter in yesterday’s lunch hour that MPD was spotted talking with two food trucks at L’Enfant Plaza, and that perhaps one of them had received a ticket. This morning, we’re hearing that one of the Sauca vehicles was forced to move yesterday. We talked with one of those trucks yesterday afternoon late, and spoke with the operator, Dingo from Fojol Bros. They have noticed a significant uptick in MPD attention to food trucks since the new year.
By Dave Levy
It’s something we skipped over during the craziness of the holidays, but in case you missed the news from Ted’s Take, the Mystics switched their colors for the upcoming season to the ever patriotic red, white and blue. Interestingly, the logo maintained its former configuration – this was really just a straight up color swap to get from the old teal/gold to this.
With this in mind, it’s worth remembering that it has been announced by Leonsis that the Wizards are going to follow suit and switch from the teal and gold (meaning all of Ted’s teams will be able to “Rock the Red,” among other things). I haven’t done nearly enough uniform editing as I have hockey rink moving, but I did try to follow the color replacement scheme that the Mystics did to create the above logo.
Following this, what do we think will happen with the uniforms? The thing with DC teams is certainly becoming the prominence of the red, but on the court, the current designs may need more than a color swap to make that happen.
The Bullets aren’t coming back, but I feel like we will need to see a logo and uniform refresh instead of just dropping in the red and blue. One creative individual has already thought of something (including stealing the Nats’ wordmark for Washington), but any other ideas?
By Ashley
‘ElFloridano-5672’
courtesy of ‘leftrightclick’
Remember that time I woke up this morning and all I wanted was tacos? KOREAN TACOS? Well I’m in luck because they’re in my ‘hood today. Sucks to be you guys! Except if you’re in the general Farragut area since every single other truck is there today. But Korean tacos are my own tiny victory.
By Jenn Larsen
‘03106-22Crop’
courtesy of ‘furcafe’
Bar Pilar has been my beloved neighborhood bar for years (even before it was one of my very first We Love Drinks). I wouldn’t have survived Snowpocalypse without it, that’s for sure, trudging the few blocks through the snow to beat cabin fever. Countless evenings hanging out for impromptu gab sessions, long brunch afternoons that turn into dinner, I could almost call it my third space if it weren’t for the other countless times I’ve walked in and walked right out again. Sweatily packed to over-capacity on peak nights, Pilar’s popularity has grown past its 49 seats. Recently I’ve even sworn off evenings there because of some rude pushing incidents. That’s the price you pay when your neighborhood bar becomes a hot spot.
Pilar isn’t just a bar, however, it’s a small-plates mecca (one of the first to have adopted that now ubiquitous model) under talented chef Justin Bittner. I’m addicted to the food there, from the meaty grilled octopus to the salty anchovies on toast which always remind me of Sicily – they even have fried pig ears! So even though the subject of restaurant expansion sometimes rightly gives pause (as Ashley notes earlier) the news that Pilar is expanding to include an upstairs dining room was met with optimism by me.
Let’s look at some renderings (keep an open mind though, computer models are notoriously cold looking). Continue reading
By Tom Bridge
Today is the first day the sun sets at 5:00 or later. Starting Saturday, we pick up more than a minute of day light every day. Not so shabby. A few bits and bobs about Art in Anacostia and Mt. Pleasant, Mixed Use and Saint Elizabeth’s, and what happens to your Faceyspaces when you shuffle off this mortal coil follow for your ride home. Continue reading
‘Miss Teen America’
courtesy of ‘MudflapDC’
Does anyone watch the Miss America pageant anymore? Some consider the annual competition an offensive vestige of not-so-progressive [read: chauvinistic] yesteryear, but I must confess to a strange interest in the spectacle. Perhaps this curiosity has been fueled by the addictive, deliciously edited, and highly disturbing “Toddlers and Tiaras” series on TLC; perhaps I find the pageantry a throwback to my Barbie-obsessed youth. Regardless, those that share my passing bemusement (or any more enthused variation on that theme) may be interested in attending the Miss District of Columbia send-off to the Miss America Pageant, which will be held at The Institute of World Politics (1521 16th St, NW) at 6:30 p.m tonight. The event is open to the public, but a $25 “donation” is “suggested.” Tickets can be purchased via the Miss DC website.
I’ve heard through the blogosophere that some of the pageant clothing that Miss DC, med student Stephanie Williams, will be wearing at the 2011 Pageant (to be held in Vegas and aired on ABC on Saturday, January 15th at 9 pm) will be on display this evening. The thought of “pageant clothing” leaves something to be desired, but I like that Miss DC–or her stylists–make a point of purchasing her wardrobe locally (including at my favorite accessories boutique, Sassanova). Check out some of her latest looks and their purchase points here. For those seriously interested in seeing a District gal win the nation-wide pageant, cast your vote on Miss Williams’ behalf at the Miss America website after watching her contestant video. Believe me, it’s not half as painful as some of the other gems available for viewing on the site, which present an excellent, cringe-filled way to pass a slow afternoon. I hesitate to put anyone to shame, but this song and dance from Miss Connecticut made me want to crawl under a rug. Cute girl, solid effort, but man.oh.man, the shoulder shrug midway through the performance make me want to cry. Will you be tuning in this year?
xoxo
TheFashionMagpie
By Ashley
Photo Courtesy of DC Empanadas
DC Empanadas is brought to you by the husband and wife team of Anna Bran-Leis and Shawn Leis, a couple of Washington area natives who met in Kindergarten (everyone now…awwww). After Anna decided that life on the road was for her, she only had to figure out what the D.C. elite needed to eat. With her Guatemalan background and the fact that empanadas are quite delicious, it seemed like a no-brainer. Continue reading
By Dave Levy
‘B87F0702’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’
Word on the street is that the Wizards’ JaVale McGee has accepted an invitation to join next month’s Slam Dunk Contest as part of the NBA’s All-Star Game festivities in Los Angeles. He’s going against one of the hometown guys – and John Wall’s main competition for Rookie of the Year – posterizing forward Blake Griffin, and, barring some sort of miracle, Favre-ian unretirement from slam dunk contests from Dwight Howard, you have to think that Griffin is the favorite. Without the big name, McGee becomes his competition (along with the Bucks’ Brandon Jennings and the Thunder’s Serge Ibaka).
This would be the same JaVale McGee that also missed a certain dunk attempt in December that has been memorialized in glorious animated gif form:
By Tom Bridge
The tweets started yesterday morning from occasional contributor to We Love DC Dave Stroup. The point was immediately clear: If Bryan Weaver wasn’t going to throw his name into the hat for At-Large Council, Stroup was going to throw him into the ring himself. Organizing online, Stroup has gathered Tweet Signatures, Online Petition Signatures, and setup a website to get the Ward One community activist off the bench and into the At-Large race that currently has few inspiring candidates.
By Ashley
‘Food Truck’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’
Holy food truck time. Capitol Southers — try out the latest and greatest truck, DC Empanadas today.
By Tom Bridge
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’
If you’ve not yet seen the great 70s comedy The Jerk with Steve Martin, perhaps this snippet should inspire you? This moment, where Navin Johnson notes that because he’s in the phone book, something good will happen to him now, is the height of irony, even in 1979. Here it is, thirty years later, and we’re still delivering these beasties to every door.
Less than 11% of people used phone books for their intended purpose in 2008, and though many creative uses exist for these beasts from kindling for the fireplace to bulletproofing your Subaru, wouldn’t it just be better for the environment if these beasts were never printed? Well, perhaps. Generally speaking I’m not in love with the idea that Verizon should ever have to stop an obligation, but it seems like this might be a good idea whose time has passed.
What they’re proposing to the Maryland Public Service Commission, though, is an opt-in program where you can ask for a phone book instead of just having them dropped off on your porch (where, in my case, they have remained since they were dropped off). The PSC has asked for proof that people aren’t using them anymore, and I think that’s a fair request. We’ll see what Verizon can come up with in terms of proof besides the obvious, “Um, have you heard of Google?”
Verizon is also intending to petition the District’s PSC in the not distant future.
By Dan Rowinski
‘IMG_6289.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’
The Capitals and Lightning battled for first place in the Southeast Division on Tuesday. Just about halfway through the season and both teams had 51 points and compare well to each other in prominent statistical categories. After Tuesday is there any doubt that Tampa Bay and Washington will battle for the division all the way down to the last week of the regular season?
It was Tampa that would triumph on Tuesday, taking home a 1-0 victory on a Martin St. Louis goal 2:54 into overtime at Verizon Center. The teams played a scoreless three periods, matching each other surge for surge, penalty for penalty, shot for shot. It was not playoff hockey but it was as close to the feel of postseason play that opponents can get in the first week of January.
“Half way through the game you could tell that it was one of those games that might be going to overtime,” St. Louis said. “The whole game both teams had their surges. Both goalies were tremendous and we needed extra time and we just, you know, got a bounce and made something with it.”
By Dave Levy
I got lots of great responses to today’s earlier post about where DC could host a Winter Classic, and because the discussion was good, I figured I’d take a crack at laying down the ice at RFK. I was a little surprised by the clamor from commenters and on Twitter for the exclusion of using the Armory neighborhood for the game, but then again, I don’t have the long ties to the town/Redskins that many others do, so who am I to argue on its part of history.
For those on the site, a full size version of the above shot is inside the post, so click through. Those in RSS readers, hang tight.
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