Category Archives: The Features

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

Mythbusting DC, The Features
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DC Mythbusting: City of Neighborhoods

Photo courtesy of
’11th Street NW Rowhouses’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Washington DC is a city of neighborhoods, many of which the tourists who visit our fair city never really experience. But the unique neighborhoods of the District are what make it special– the beautiful rowhouses in Capitol Hill, the commercial centers in Penn Quarter and Georgetown, the arts districts in Logan Circle and U Street– these are the coolest parts of the city. But what do you really know about DC’s neighborhoods? How many neighborhoods do you think the District has?  Can you locate Kent, Swampoodle, or Twining on a map?  And how do these neighborhoods compare? Read on to learn more about the District’s unique neighborhoods.

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Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘julianne’s’

There’s nothing like a nice day in the park to get your photographer creativity flowing, and Dupont Circle is one of those recurring themes in our pool. And Dupont isn’t short of characters or things that make for good pictures.

But every now and then you have to take a new perspective on the ordinary. User julianne’s got down low to get this angle of people playing chess. It’s not an angle we see often, and I like it a lot.

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Gruesome Playground Injuries


Tim Getman and Gabriela Hernandez-Coffey
photo by Stan Barouh

After the final curtain call, complete with standing ovation from several audience members, Jenn said to me “I’m going to have to let you take this one entirely.” I tore my eyes away from the audience member who was directly opposite us, across the theater in the round, who seemed to finally be slowing down in her tears, and looked at Jenn. “This is just too much like a situation I’ve seen in reality for me to write this up.”

I replied that I was okay with that, but it wasn’t going to be a terribly positive review.

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Sports Fix
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Sports Fix: One and Eight?!

Willingham_Early_Celebration.jpg
Photo by Max Cook, Special to We Love DC

Nationals
Record: 23-22
Last Two Weeks: 6-8
Place: Tied for Third, Four Games Back

It was back to reality for the Nationals over the last two weeks. Mistakes on the mound, mistakes in the field, mistakes at the plate, and they finished the last two weeks under .500. The Nats played 20 games in 20 days, something they have rarely done in the past, and never this early in the season. They finished 10-10 for that stretch, overcoming a few games that were mired in adversity. With their loss Friday night, the Nationals dropped below the .500 mark for the first time in early April. They didn’t sink into self-pity, they fought off the Orioles for the series win. Continue reading →

Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 5/21 – 5/24/10

Photo courtesy of
‘Fiesta Asia’
courtesy of ‘vpickering’

Good Monday to you all! After being gone all week lost in the Smoky Mountains, I was wondering what I might have missed up here in “civilization” and I happily indulged myself checking out what our local photogs posted to our Flickr pool. Here’s a sampling of what caught my eye from the past few days; use it to enjoy some moments of sanity as your work week commences!

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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra @ The Black Cat 5/19/10

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra at Black Cat 5/19/10 courtesy of Silver Mt. Zion.

The latest name variation and line-up incarnation of Efrim Menuck’s Canadian post-rock outfit, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, played to a sparsely attended show at the Black Cat on Wednesday night in support of their latest album, “Kollaps Tradixionales“. Too easily dismissed by many music fans because of its off-shoot from Godspeed You Black Emperor status, Silver Mt. Zion is in its own right one of the mightiest live post-rock acts going. A fact that they proved again and again during their amazing set on Wednesday night. This show was so damn good that I actually felt bad for the nay-sayers, the second-guessers, and the lazy who missed out on Silver Mt. Zion’s unique and powerful performance.
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The Features, Where We Live
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Where We Live: College Park

Photo courtesy of
‘Moon Setting over Byrd Stadium’
courtesy of ‘pthread1981’

College Park is best known for the University of Maryland and its 36,000 students, but there is so much more to this community than just the university.  College Park is full of great restaurants, shops, running trails, arts and cultural opportunities, sporting events, and more.  Sure, it’s got a lot of students, but it’s not just riots and frat parties.  And since I’ve mostly only seen the riot/frat party side of College Park while visiting friends who attended the university years ago, I’ve asked our friends at the fantastic planning and development blog Rethink College Park to tell us what’s great about their community outside of UMD.  Read on to find out what College Park residents love about their community, and what you’ll have to check out next time you’re in the area.

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The Features
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First Look: Behind the Design, Buddha Bar DC

via Max Cook

There is nothing understated about Buddha Bar.

From the moment you find yourself standing in front of two enormous, yet intricately detailed, iron-clad gates, reading the brand’s etched signage, you just know that you are about to embark on a rather exceptional experience.

The play on monumental proportions continues once you step inside the door.  Don’t be fooled by the cozy entryway, with its stunning mosaic stone rugs, because as soon as you turn the corner to enter the bar and dining area, the ceilings rise and the floor plate drastically expands. Quite atypical for the DC-scene, Buddha Bar consists of 9,500-square-feet of space and has 22-foot high ceilings.

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Sports Fix, The Features
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Sports Fix Special: Miscues, Errors and Mishaps

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Photo by Max Cook special to We Love DC

Normally, we wouldn’t run this as a feature, but my god man, look at these photos, I couldn’t dare squish them to 240px.

What a night. The Nationals rallied late, but the damage was long past done, and the team fell back to .500, losing 10-7 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score.  Luis Atilano went 4 1/3 and gave up 7 runs (6 earned), but his pitching wasn’t the only trouble.  After previous games, manager Jim Riggleman has said that the Nationals are making their mark as a team with defense and a team with pitching.  Tonight, the Nats had neither.  Even star Golden Glove third baseman Ryan Zimmerman came up empty in the sixth, tripping over his own feet  to prolong the already painful inning.

Tonight should’ve been a chance for the Nats to pull ahead, shore up their record, and head into the weekend Battle of the Beltways with the Orioles, but instead, they’re back to .500.  The Mets had a rough start to the night, as starting pitcher John Maine was pulled out of the game after just one batter.  Maine’s usual 90mph fastball was topping out around 82mph, and his form was definitely off.  The Mets pulled him as a precaution, bringing in Raul Valdes to fill in.

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Essential DC, Fun & Games, History, Special Events, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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BREAKING: Strasburg may Start June 4

Photo courtesy of
‘4TH’
courtesy of ‘MissChatter’

The rumor mill has it that the second comi…. I mean Steven Strasburgs’ major league debut will be on the June 4 game against the Cincinnati Reds. For those of you living in caves, Steven Strasburg is one of the hottest prospects in the history of major league baseball, and certainly the top for 2010.  The Nats picked him up with their first round draft pick last year and sent him to the minors for some conditioning. In the minors he’s pitched just over a 1 ERA with around 1 strike out per inning.  That’s scary.  His start promises to be one of the biggest events in Nats history. The game will sell out, so buy those tickets quick.  At this point, the cheap seats are already sold.

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Victoria F. Gaitán

Victoria Gaitán by Max Cook
Victoria by Max Cook

As a patron of the arts, I have had the fortune of meeting many amazing people in the local arts scene, including gallery owners, curators, artists, and others who equally share my passion.  Only recently did it dawn on me that I have access to a quiver of creators, to some incredibly talented people whose lives and work I’d like to share with you, because well, it would be a shame not to.

Our city sometimes lacks the credit that it deserves in many aspects, particularly when it comes to the world of the arts.  Some of this criticism is rightly due, but in the relatively short time that I’ve lived in DC it has continued to bloom and take on an identity of its own, and I can’t tell you how excited I am to be a part of it.

So I’ve decided to dive head first into featuring creative minds that I know and who shine in my eyes, to feature their work and to share their lives with you.  My approach, much like my personality, is intended to be honest and unorthodox, and to educate you as well as myself in the process.  I hope to avoid formalities, skip the bullshit, and get right down to the dirt.

We begin with local photographer, Victoria F. Gaitán.  When I first saw her at a gallery opening years ago, I was intimidated by her height, 7″ heels, black latex pants, and blonde locks that flowed past her knees.  By nature I am not an extrovert, and I sure as hell am not one with a beautiful specimen like Victoria, so it took me a long time to get up the nerve to speak to her.  I remember a time when we sat on a couch next to each other, and given my fear factor and her shyness, not a word was spoken.  As time went on, I realized that she is one of the sweetest, nicest, most creative and approachable people on the planet, which is why I have chosen her to be my guinea pig.

The rest of this article features strong language and imagery that may not be suitable for work environments. If that’s not your thing, take a gander at this instead.

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The Daily Feed, Tourism
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Local Artist Bluebrain Writes Custom Score to Sant Ocean Hall

 Photo courtesy of
‘Sant Ocean Hall’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

While some folks are social explorers in museums, tending to talk about everything they’re seeing, I tend to be a more contemplative traveller through these places, stopping to take it all in in silence. Apparently, I’m not alone, and the folks at Bluebrain have just the thing for you to try out as you head to the National Museum of Natural History’s Sant Ocean Hall.  The free track, available in MP3 format, is meant to be started as you enter the exhibit from the Elephant side, and listened to as you wander throughout the exhibit, learning about the development of ocean life.

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends, May 22-23

Photo courtesy of
‘say “hay”‘
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Rachel: If you haven’t caught on by now, my weekends usually consist of one of two things (or both) — baseball and music. This weekend is no different. Friday and Saturday will be spent at good old Nationals Park to watch the Nats take on the worst team in the MLB this season aka the Baltimore Orioles. Then, before softball with the Near Misses in Glover Park on Sunday, there will be some good old music making in my apartment. I can only hope my neighbors like the Blues. Keep those fingers crossed for me.

Tiff: Saturday, it’s all about the Fiesta Asia Street Fair, especially the flash mob, but I may squeeze in a trip to the farm for more strawberries first. Sunday I’m probably going to be roaming around looking for jewelry to go with my costume for my dance studio’s upcoming recital. I’m thinking India Art & Craft and Eastern Market will be my first stops, but I’d love to hear your suggestions.   Continue reading →

DC Victory Gardens, Food and Drink, The Features
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Too Much Farmers Market, Too Little Fridge

Photo courtesy of
‘fresh strawberries’
courtesy of ‘K’s Clicks’

The local farmers market you’ve been hungrily stalking finally has something other than winter storage apples and root vegetables for the first time since September. You’ve been dreaming about fresh asparagus since the Second Snowpocalypse. You finally have the chance to buy strawberries that aren’t imported from Chile or someplace so… if you’re anything like me, you just bought more produce than you can possibly hope to eat because it all looked so darn good.

Don’t let it go to waste! I know, you’re just one person and you’ve got a flat of strawberries because once again, you forgot to pace yourself so you can last all strawberry season. but fear not. Here are some suggestions about what to do with all that spring produce goodness.   Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nats Win Crazy Game Over Mets

Photo courtesy of
‘Diving Grab’
courtesy of Tom Bridge

The Mets tonight turned a triple play against the Nationals, the first one in our fair city since 1964, and Angel Pagan hit an inside the park home run, but still it was the Nats that came out on top.  The last time a team had a triple play and an inside the park home run in the same game was 1955 when the Phillies did it.  Of course they won that game, while the Mets came up short tonight.  Hard to think that a team that did two of the rarest single acts in baseball would also come up short.

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News, Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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16th Street Near Scottish Rite Temple Closed

Photo courtesy of
‘House of the Temple’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

16th Street between S & R is currently shut down for police investigation of a second suspicious package there this morning. I’m not sure why you’d want to blow up the Masons, really, unless you’re deep into conspiracies…oh. I see. Well.

Buses are being stopped (including all of the S buses that run down 16th Street) around the area, and you should probably steer clear from there for now. From what I understand, buses were being offloaded and checked for suspicious packages by MPD in the area, as well.

Comedy in DC
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Comedy in DC: Too Punchy to Blog Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘Need a hit-man? Or help obtaining information?’
courtesy of ‘voteprime’

It’s raining! It’s gross! It’s humid! What, don’t you remember what I said about comedy being performed in basements? It’s an all-weather sport, you guys.

This Friday the 21st, as I mentioned last time, is the Don’t Block the Box Comedy Show at the Wonderland Ballroom. Only 2 bucks to see featuring Aparna Nancherla, Keith Irvin, Graham Hall, Ahmed Huidobro, and Lafayette Wright, with Pete Bladel hosting. Continue reading →

Adventures, Business and Money, Essential DC, Food and Drink, News, The Features
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Whole Foods Opens In Friendship Heights

Morning Coffee Bar by pquill

Starting today, the Whole Foods Market (WFM) at 4420 Willard Avenue NW opens its brand spanking new, gourmet delicacy-revealing doors to the public.  This latest addition to The Shops at Wisconsin Place and the Whole Foods Market chain is twice as large as the current shop on River Road and, as experienced in yesterday’s blogger preview, brings new and innovative offerings to the area and highlights local growers, products and farmers.

According to my tour guide Ellen James, Whole Foods defines the term “local” as any location within one day’s drive of the store. That means the truck needs to leave and return to the store within 24 hours. So we’re reasonably talking PA, MD, DC, VA, DE, and WV.  If you really pushed it, perhaps NC, NJ, NY, etc. but WF knows that’s pushing it.

Throughout the tour it was clear that deep thought and local area market research went in to the design of this facility and hot sauce store. Not only will you find the traditional WF staples (salad bar, global cuisine bar, olive bar, meat counter, cheese shop, fish monger, soup station, etc.) but some additions and features specific to our regional palates. Continue reading →

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo


Zebra by Amberture

It’s one thing to snap a few pictures here and there, but when you come up with an idea for a series and actually execute it, you’ve stepped your game up a notch.  Case in point, Flickrite Amberture has created a series in which she has every day people, including family members and coworkers, dress up in animal masks.  By wearing the masks, her subjects’ mundane tasks become interesting and cause you to look at their environment in a whole new way.  Are we much different than caged zoo animals, forced to sit at our desks for 8+ hours a day?  They should arrange field trips for school kids, parading them around our cube farms, pointing out the different species.  “Hey look kids!  It’s a pinstriped lawyer stalking her prey.  She can spend months or even years preparing for the kill.  And over there in that cube, hiding behind the computer screen and stacks of O’Reilly books, is the wild and wooly systems administrator.  Don’t get too close to him or that smelly sucker will bite your head off!  OK, who wants ice cream?”

If you have an idea for a photography project, no matter how wacky it may be, your friends and family are likely to help.  Creating a series can help inspire your photography, build your skill level, and motivate you to get out there and shoot.  And on that note, I’ve gotta get back to cleaning up my fellow zoo animals’ dung before feeding time.

The DC 100
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DC Omni 100: #88 Flowers

Photo courtesy of
‘Naturally Wild’
courtesy of ‘Sandy Austin’

This week’s installment of the Omnivore 100, a list of foods all omnivores should try at least once.

The Omnivore 100 list entry #88 is kind of cryptic. “Flowers.” Which gave me pause- some flowers are quite toxic. And I don’t know about you, but rose-infused anything just tastes like a grandmother’s perfume to me. (Imagine my disappointment when I tried Turkish Delight, the thing Edmund sold out the other Pevensie children for, only to discover that it tasted like an old lady. Bleh.) So this week, I’m going to talk Nasturtiums.

I first tried Nasturtium flowers at home from flower delivery dublin, when one of the many vegetable/tomato purveyors was selling small bags of them and offering samples. I was hesitant, remembering my horrible experience with Turkish Delight, but to my very great surprise, the petals tasted peppery, like a strong arugula. And they’re prettier than arugula, so if you’re trying to impress someone with a nice meal, Nasturtium blossoms in the salad are a good place to start.   Continue reading →