Category Archives: The Features

These are our features. They come back either weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.

The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Interview with MIJA

Image Credit: MIJA Jewelry

In less than four years, Michelle Guest has turned her passion for art and jewelry design into a thriving business.  MIJA Jewelry is literally everywhere, and has graced the pages of almost every fashion magazine and tabloid – decorating a truly A-list clientele (Gwenyth Paltrow and Ellen Pompeo are huge fans).  In this We Love DC exclusive interview, the designer and Glover Park resident lets us know a little bit more about what makes her collection special and where she goes to find inspiration in her very own backyard.

We Love DC: What is MIJA?

Michelle Guest: MIJA is a combination of the first two letters of my name (MIchelle) and the first two letters of my sister’s name (JAni). My sister was the one who really inspired me to start the business by creating a collection of children’s jewelry.  The company has since expanded and now also features a huge collection [of] women’s jewelry.  She really encouraged me to jump into a business I initially knew nothing about.  If it was not for her, I’m not sure I would have ever done it!

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The Features, We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends, July 17-18

Photo courtesy of
‘Cooling off’
courtesy of ‘(afm)’

John: I’ll be playing two shows this weekend. Friday at Ri-Ra in Arlington with my cover band and Saturday at Tarara Winery north of Leesburg with Juniper Lane. Tarara has a “Saturday night summer series” with different bands playing from 6-9pm almost every weekend. Saturday afternoon I’ll be digging in the garden and fighting off groundhogs in a true Caddyshack approach to pest control. If I wasn’t so engaged with nature, I’d spend my afternoon down at Biergarten Haus on H Street enjoying a slice of Bavaria in my own proverbial backyard.

Rachel: I’m headed to Nashville for the weekend to audition for the 10th season of American Idol. Is the show a joke now that Simon and Paula’s gone plus the fact it’s the show’s tenth season? Maybe. Sure. But I’m doing it anyway. If I wasn’t, you better believe I’d spend the whole weekends watching Nats away games on TV or online. Wish me luck? Here’s to hoping I can put DC on the map via a Fox reality television show going into its first decade? Why not? Someone has to, right?
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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: The Smashing Pumpkins @ Ram’s Head Live 7/12/10

SP @ Ram's Head Live #3 photo by Michael Darpino.

The Smashing Pumpkins (2010 edition) performed at Ram’s Head Live in Baltimore on Monday night. The show was part of the current ‘small venue’ tour to promote Billy Corgan’s latest free-on-the-internet Smashing Pumpkins’ project/album, “Teargarden by Kaleidyscope”. The small venue tour also seems designed to generate the buzz of exclusivity for shows that are meant to erase the memory of the 2008 anniversary tour that swayed in quality from disappointment to fiasco. As both a promotional tour for the new album (it got me downloading it*) and a do-over for the infamous 2008 “shitshow“, Monday night’s concert was a success. The show was less a nostalgia trip (although some classics were performed) than it was an introduction to the new line-up, an exploration of the band’s more recent output, and an ego-stroke for The Smashing Pumpkins’ perpetually wounded band-leader Billy Corgan.

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Entertainment, Special Events, The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
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Fringe 2010: Do Not Kill Me, Killer Robots

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

I’m reviewing eight plays over eight days for the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival, in collaboration with DC Theatre Scene. Get your button and join me!

Actor Ben Egerman is the last human on earth. You the audience member are part of a horde of killer robots who’ve decimated the populace and are now clamouring for his blood, but you won’t kill him as long as he keeps you entertained.

That’s basically the premise of Egerman’s one-man show, Do Not Kill Me, Killer Robots – a quirky piece that reminded me of the elaborate pranks shy dorky boys used to pull to get your attention. That’s intentional on Egerman’s part. There’s not much substance here, just a string of vignettes ranging from truly funny to awkward. When he’s on and the delivery is strong, it’s hysterical. When the energy falls flat, it’s painful.

With the aid of hilariously drawn cardboard cut-outs, Egerman takes the audience (remember, you are killer robots!) through the events leading to (your) world domination, musing on (your) origins along the way. There’s a prolonged pitstop at space camp where Egerman does dead-on impressions of all the kooky characters you remember from any geek camp. Maybe too prolonged. Continue reading →

The Features
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Trending in DC: Today on Twitter

Photo courtesy of
‘tiny dice’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

One of the things I’ve always been amused to note on Twitter is the difference between DC’s local trending topics and the trends for all Twitter users generally. The greater DC area has a pretty educated population, so frequently while the rest of the country is talking about Justin Bieber, the trending topics in DC are a little more erudite. This fuels my personal sense of smug superiority, so I embrace it. But apparently that is not the case today, y’all.

What’s DC talking about today? According to Twitter, today DC is talking about: Continue reading →

Business and Money, Entertainment, Essential DC, Food and Drink, Life in the Capital, People, Special Events, The Features
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Reality TV: “DC Cupcakes” Premiere

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Last night’s preview party for “DC Cupcakes” was filled with pink boxes, votive candles, delicious mini cupcakes, champagne and a fantastic look out at the trials, tribulations and success of locally owned and operated Georgetown Cupcake.

The first episode of the six-part series premieres this Friday at 10pm on TLC and opens on Valentine’s Day, the busiest day of the year, where the cupcakery must meet a demand increase of 500% (the shop usually sells 5,000 cupcakes a day, so we’re talking 25,000 cupcakes here,) AND tackle a last minute challenge for a good cause. Like every small business, and reality TV show, there are bumps in the road, conflicts, mishaps, lovable characters (look for comic relief from head baker Andrew and shop staffer Yasmin) and late nights. Also, be prepared for a blast from the past, as the episode contains Snopocalyspe covered streetscapes. SnOMG!

While some might argued that the cupcake craze has jumped the shark, there’s something sweet (pun intended,) charming and inspirational about two sisters quitting their finance and fashion industry jobs to join forces and simply bake cupcakes. According to co-owner Sophie LaMontagne, the two sisters originally defined success as “making the rent and baking with their mom at their side.” LaMontagne exuberantly added “I get to come to work in sweatpants and make cupcakes!” Got to admit that sure beats pantyhose. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Fun & Games, Music, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Chromeo

Chromeo @ 9:30 Club

As a way to say thanks to our loyal readers, We Love DC will be giving away a pair of tickets to a 9:30 Club concert to one lucky reader each week. Check back here every Wednesday morning at 9am to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

This week we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Chromeo perform at the 9:30 Club on Monday, July 26th.

You wouldn’t think a couple of guys called P-Thugg and Dave 1 would be Hall & Oates reincarnate, but that is exactly how the men who are Chromeo have been described in the press. To embrace this comparison, Chromeo went so far as to do a full set with Daryl Hall at Bonaroo recently! These electro-funk Lotharios hail from the sexy Great White North and are spreading their unique brand of synth seduction across America with fellow electrolytes Holy Ghost and Telephoned in tow.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 4pm today. One entry per email address, please. Tickets for this show are also available through Ticketfly. If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts.

For the rules of this giveaway…
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Entertainment, Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: 2010 Fringe Week One

Photo courtesy of
‘DC Fringe Festival Button, 2010’
courtesy of ‘[F]oxymoron’

I’ve seen five plays over the first weekend of the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival. It’s my first time completely diving in to what’s on tap with the festival – in years past I just went to a show or two – and the results have been theatrical overdose. What’s crazy to me is that I ran into people who said they’d seen twenty shows already. That’s dedication to Fringe immersion!

Normally with my theater reviews, I see a performance, let thoughts sift in my mind for a few days, and then write. But because Fringe shows have very limited runs, for this experience I’m posting as soon as I can and being as brief as possible. It’s definitely a challenge! With over one hundred productions to choose from and a rather chaotic schedule, Fringe can be overwhelming.

So let’s recap what I’ve seen so far, what I’m seeing next, and my recommendations for enjoying yourself.

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Food and Drink, The Hill, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Market Lunch

Photo courtesy of
‘Market Lunch’
courtesy of ‘katmere’

Whenever I mention Market Lunch to people, and I do often, I always get the same response: “Oh, I’ve heard that place is so great–but I’ve never been.” I don’t know if it’s the lines that scare folks away, or the Soup Nazi-esque ordering system, but don’t be afraid! It’s a quintessential Washington experience that no one should miss, and a great meal to boot. My trips to Eastern Market are almost always wrapped around meal time to make sure I can take advantage of all that Market Lunch has to offer. Continue reading →

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo


They’re growing pink toenails by MudflapDC

There are hundreds of things that I’d like to do and places I’d like to see in the surrounding area, but I always seem to forget about them or put them off for another day, another year.  Well, you know how the rest of that story goes.  Soon another year has passed and my list has gotten even longer.

One place on my list is the McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area in Maryland.  Known for the sea of sunflowers that bloom every year, it’s a photographer’s dream.  However like other photogenic scenes, the sunflower fields have been shot to death which makes it challenging to come up with a unique view.  Despite the lack of sunflowers in this photo, the addition of (shut up, brain) shiny pink toenails moves this place even higher on my list of places to visit.

A unique view?  I’d say MudflapDC has succeeded here.

Entertainment, Special Events, The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
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Fringe 2010: Darfur The Greatest Show on Earth!

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

I’m reviewing eight plays over eight days for the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival, in collaboration with DC Theatre Scene. Get your button and join me!

One of the challenges of reviewing Fringe theater is determining how much weight to give earnest performance over clumsy material. But with so many productions to choose from, with your time and money on the line, I’d rather be blunt than kind.

Darfur: The Greatest Show on Earth! thinks itself mighty clever, contrasting genocides in Nazi Germany and the Sudan under the guise of a big-top circus subverting the cliches of musicals. But it’s merely a muddle of ethical issues, preferring to preach at the audience rather than to be truly brave. When Theater J’s stunning In Darfur simply broke a refugee’s legs on stage, that was theatrical power at its most subversive. But being screeched at to get out of my chair and take political action, as in this performance? Just not effective.

The faults of Darfur: The Greatest Show on Earth! are really the faults of the writer, Jonathan Fitts. The naive plot lines – in the past a Nazi Guard grapples with his bigotry in the face of an innocent child, while in the present a Janjaweed soldier fights his love for a refugee – make for an awkward, clumsy musical that would need a very strong directorial hand to make it as gutwrenching as it seems to think it is. Continue reading →

Capital Chefs, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Munehiro Yonemoto of Kushi (Part II)

Photo courtesy of
‘Cathy’s Japanese Chicken-Mint Skewers’
courtesy of ‘CathyLovesDC’

This is going to be the easiest post I’ve ever written.

I think writing that sentence will be longer than the ingredients for our recipe. Let’s try:

Chicken. Mint. Salt. Plum Sauce. Shichimi.

Yep. (Wait, what was that last one?) Well, finding the correct ingredients for this one might take longer than a trip to, well… Kushi. But what I can tell you is, you can do this. This recipe is really easy. Really. We promise. It’s not souffle. (Did we trick you with that one? We’re sorry.)

Salty, sweet, savory, spicy… Katie and I recently stopped by Kushi by for a breeze of a grilling lesson. Chef Muneihiro Yonemoto may have been a man of few words due to a language barrier, but like the few ingredients in his chicken kabobs, he got his point across quite clearly. Continue reading →

Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Chef Yonemoto of Kushi (Part I)

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You gotta respect a man with a headband and lean, mean butchering skills, right? Chef Yonemoto of Kushi Izakaya and Sushi is bent over a cutting board chiseling away at a raw chicken, effortlessly slicing up breast strips for us to grill. Cathy and I are standing in the open grill kitchen (if you want to get all fancy about it, you can call it the robata counter) of Kushi sipping green tea and observing the inner workings of my newest favorite sushi spot in the city. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Special Events, The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
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Fringe 2010: Medea

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

I’m reviewing eight plays over eight days for the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival, in collaboration with DC Theatre Scene. Get your button and join me!

If you want to know why Greek tragedy is still vital to modern theater, go see paperStrangers Performance Group’s adaptation of Medea. Striking use of movement and multimedia combine to bring very intense moments of madness to life. Director Michael Burke has a fascinating vision, unified throughout all the major design elements he also helmed – lighting, video, sound and costumes – creating a sometimes strident but brutally beautiful work, like Medea herself.

“A woman’s likely to get emotional when her husband marries again,” understates Jason (of the Argonauts, if you are keeping mythological score). He owes a huge debt to Medea, who murdered her own brother and many others to assist Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece. She bears him two children, and expects to reign as his queen despite her barbarian background. But love is a luxury for heroes – he puts her aside for a more royal bride, and more insults to follow, with the bride’s father wanting her banished.

This is where we meet them, at the moment the ultimate bridezilla is dumped in her swan feathered bridal gown, her voiceless screams of rage fracturing the space, a creepily twisted chorus shuffling in to reveal her inner turmoil. Continue reading →

The Features, Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 7/9 – 7/11/10

Photo courtesy of
‘Vuvuzela’
courtesy of ‘ep_jhu’

And a weekend it was. Spain wins, an octopus goes undefeated, we finally get rain, then back to heat, and as usual, our awesome Flickrati were out in force. Be sure to check out a new feature here on WLDC, and if you’re interested in being spotlighted, drop me a line.

Meanwhile, time to indulge in the weekend for just a little bit longer! Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nats drop finale to the Giants

Drew Storen on the Mound

On a picturesque July Sunday, the Giants came out swinging.  With the series on the line in the last game before the All Star Break, they’d get a pair of walks and a pair of singles off Livan Hernandez to jump out to a 2-0 lead.  Livo was reaching for the corners but not finding them in the first, throwing six pitches to both Posey and Uribe looking for that elusive third strike call.   In the third, the Giants would lead off with back to back singles from Sanchez and Huff, followed by an off-the-wall triple from Buster Posey. On the triple, Nyjer Morgan would take a difficult route to the ball, which would bounce just behind him, and back into center, letting Posey advance to third easily.  Ishikawa would sacrifice him home, letting the Giants come out to a 5-0 lead after the third. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Special Events, The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
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Fringe 2010: Handbook for Hosts

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

I’m reviewing eight plays over eight days for the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival, in collaboration with DC Theatre Scene. Get your button and join me!

There’s not much point to Happenstance Theater & Banished Productions’s Handbook for Hosts except to create an atmosphere. But what an atmosphere! From the moment the ensemble begins teasing audience members with spot-on film noir accents and prettily coiffed hair, you willingly enter the parlance of the 1930’s and ’40’s.

Bumbling Russian spies, dueling femme fatales, and even the Chattanooga-Choo-Choo all combine to resurrect the allure of an era lost. Ably created and helmed by Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Melissa Krodman and Michael Sazonov – this quartet shines whether singing, dancing, or miming old movies with clever shadowplay. Punctuated throughout are old style radio renditions advising gents how to be proper hosts, a java jingle, riffs on film noir classics (including a spectacularly funny bit of audience participation), and a moody poem on dames gone wrong. The quartet’s dedication to creating a naughty glamour is hypnotic.

Don’t go in expecting a heavy plot or political musings. This production’s like an old perfume bottle of attar of roses, with a little saucy kick. It’s playful and a bit perverse, like silk stockings all askew, a welcome escape from our drab world outside.

Entertainment, Special Events, The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
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Fringe 2010: Secret Obscenities

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

I’m reviewing eight plays over the next eight days for the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival, in collaboration with DC Theatre Scene. Get your button and join me!

Two perverted men in raincoats. On a park bench. Outside a girls’ school. Think you know what’s going on? Just wait til they start calling each other Sigmund and Karl, claiming to have witnessed events from a hundred years ago – throw in some torture talk and vague references to Chilean dictators, and you have quite a puzzle. Oh, and lots of flashing.

Washington Shakespeare Company’s production of Secret Obscenities is the kind of play that requires you to pay attention or you’ll get lost in the twists. Written by Marco Antonio de la Parra and set in 1980’s Chile, the two protagonists dance around the truth of their situation until the very end. Starting out as hysterically funny “dirty old men,” Brian Crane as Sigmund and Christopher Herring as Karl display enough antics to keep you entertained before delving into deep philosophical and political issues. There’s frantic physical comedy punctuated by well, dick jokes. Clocking in at a rapid 70 minutes, it explores what happens when you lose your identity to the totalitarian state. Continue reading →

News, Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed
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Weekend Traffic Alerts

Photo courtesy of
‘Road Closed’
courtesy of ‘Phillip Pessar’

There are a couple of big closures this weekend that you should be aware of as you plan your driving routes this weekend. The first is the 12th Street exit from inbound 395 across the Case Bridge. The ramp from 395 to 12th Street will be closed starting tonight at 9pm, and will not reopen until 4am on Monday. They’re fixing things on the ramp most of the weekend, and that will also close D Street SW east of 12th Street, too.

In addition, DDOT is doing some testing on the Frederick Douglass Bridge (South Capitol Street Bridge) from 4am to 9am on Sunday for standard monthly testing of the swing span.

You should also prepare for evening stoppages next week on DC 295 and I-295 around the 11th Street bridge project next week as they remove old sign structures and so they can add the steel trussing for the pedestrian bridge.

Entertainment, Special Events, We Love Arts
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Norman Rockwell & the Movies

---And Daniel Boone Comes to Life on the Underwood Portable

Norman Rockwell, "---And Daniel Boone Comes to Life on the Underwood Portable"; 1923, oil on canvas; Collection of Steven Spielberg; courtesy Smithsonian American Art Museum

Last week, the latest special exhibit opened up at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg” showcases 57 major Rockwell paintings and drawings from the private collections of two of Hollywood’s most influential modern moviemakers. The exhibition runs through January 2, 2011.

The exhibition – only being shown here in DC – is the first to plumb the depths of the connections between Rockwell’s images of American life and the movies. Between Rockwell’s work and the movies of Lucas and Spielberg, the themes of patriotism, small-town values, children growing up, unlikely heroes, imaginations, and life’s ironies are portrayed between canvas and film. “Ultimately, looking at Rockwell in terms of the movies opens a whole new way of understanding his work for the public,” said senior curator and exhibition organizer Virginia Mecklenburg, “but also for scholars interested in American popular and visual culture in the middle of the 20th century.”

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