Category Archives: The Features

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

DC Victory Gardens, The Daily Feed, Thrifty District, We Green DC
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DIY: Garden Planters!

Photo courtesy of
‘Our Garbage Cans’
courtesy of ‘auntjojo’

I’m an unabashed free thing scavenger. If its on the curbside and in good condition, I will go out of my way to look at it. One of the best finds of late on this front, was a sizable terra cotta flower pot (thank you, 8th St. neighbor!). You know why this was super exciting? Because flower pots are expensive! And if you’re gardening with limited space/sunlight, container potting is one of the smarter ways to go. 

So, what to do? (Besides scavenge, that is.) Make your own! This is something my grandmother, a master gardener, advised me to do early on: make flower pots out of old coffee cans (either tin or plastic, doesn’t matter). Then, I saw this article in The Guardian.

All it takes is a quick pass through the recycling bin (your own, or.. if you’re adventurous, that of others) to find some really sweet-looking tin cans. Puncture holes in the bottoms and you’re ready to go. You just saved precious dollars that can be spent on more seeds!

Downtown, Food and Drink, Penn Quarter, The Features, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: SEI

"Silver Samurai" cocktail at SEI

"'Silver Samurai' cocktail at SEI" by Jenn Larsen, on Flickr

Oh, SEI! How I wanted to be seduced by your mod opulence, so Versailles by way of Anime. Your pristine white and gold decor, your flirty little lounge, all punctuated by red coral. What a tease you are. For these are not the times to enjoy $11 cocktails smothered in ice (what are those cubes hiding, I wonder? about 4 ounces of liquor), no matter how lusciously they roll over the tongue, or $12 plates of tiny cubes of tuna, no matter how perfectly they quiver before melting in my mouth…

Damn.

Honestly, going to a lounge like SEI at a time when everyday I hear of someone else losing their job, makes me feel dirty. I admit to a certain hypocrisy. But, really? Who are these people lining the bar? These spray-tanned wallet vampires in go-go boots? Of course, one can’t control clientele, and SEI’s decor (“New York? Miami? Where are they trying to be?” my friend sighed in confusion) is going to inspire people to dress a certain way. I just wish that the women of this city who still have disposable income would PLEASE learn that classy can still be sexy. It just isn’t seemly to see that much of your browned  (I meant) hyper-tanned crackling cleavage during a recession…

Ahem. Ok, sorry to get all social commentary on you. Back to drinks. 

The good news is that those ridiculously small cocktails are surprisingly good. I had the “Silver Samurai” first, a mixture of shochu, cucumber and vanilla syrup topped with cracked black pepper. I just had to try it, given the combination of cucumber and vanilla which to me sounded more like a bath gel than a drink. However, it was addictive, fresh and smart. “I could definitely take a bath in this,” I smiled to my friend, who was happily enjoying a mocktail concocted just for her. We never did find out its ingredients, because we could barely hear our lovely server over the electronica pumping through the place.

Next, I nervously ordered “Liquid Wasabi.” Continue reading →

Business and Money, Media, News, Technology, The Features
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Geek Corner: The Kindle and Local Newspapers

Photo courtesy of
‘Kindle 2 Homepage’
courtesy of ‘tbridge’

I fell in love the Amazon Kindle 2 when I visited my folks in Arizona this Spring. Reading a book on the svelte device was remarkably similar to grabbing a nice paperback, and settling in on the beach. I didn’t think that it would be so easy to read a book in any other format, but the Kindle’s proved me wrong. In addition to being a book reader, though, it’s also a portable terminal for a number of newspapers and magazines. The issues are delivered silently overnight via Whispernet, the cell network attached to the Kindle, which never fails to deliver an issue, never drops it in a puddle or forgets to the tie the bag shut, and always remembers where you live. So, what’s available for your average DC person?
Continue reading →

Comedy in DC
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Comedy in DC: Chris White’s “I Take Requests”

There is some kind of comedy lull happening in April, but this Friday, there’s a cool show happening in the Improv Lounge. Chris White will be doing his 6th “I Take Requests” show- people submit requests via email, and within a few weeks, he has to turn them into jokes and perform them.  Previous editions of the hour-long show have covered such topics as Blackberries, fish sticks, the color blue, and Newton’s Third Law. Get your tickets quick.  Continue reading →

Life in the Capital, The Features
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Taking a Few Laps

 Photo courtesy of
‘Going for the Gold’
courtesy of ‘evoo73’

Before moving to DC, the last pool I frequented was that in my high school friend’s backyard. Though I took swimming lessons every summer day during my adolescence, in general “swimming” meant flopping around in water to cool off between tanning. Now I’ve come to embrace swimming as a really satisfying form of exercise thanks to my former collegiate swimmer roommate and DC’s free public swimming pools. 

Swimming is my new favorite winter-months mode of exercise. I’m a little too cash-strapped (read: cheap) to pony up a gym membership and often find working out in a gym, with its mirrored walls and flourescent lighting, to be a bit soul-crushing. Running outside is great, and I’ve been so pleased to find that DC is really a Running City. However, in January, when it is pitch dark both when you wake up in the morning and get out of work at night and below freezing, it’s a little hard to motivate. Plus, running is an alone activity; Swimming at the DC pools makes me feel like I’m part of the community. Something about a group of people all breathing into the same water really fosters bonding, you know? Continue reading →

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Guadalupe by Nestum23

One of the things I love about DC is that like many big cities, it’s full of diversity that can change within just a few short blocks.  If you were to pop out of the Metro at the Smithsonian station on the Mall and start walking north, you’d first be surrounded by monuments and government buildings and experience what most tourists see.  As you walked through downtown, you might see a little more color as you strolled by restaurants, chain stores, and street vendors.  Eventually you would be in a more residential area full of rowhomes, parks, and people going about their daily lives.  You’d likely notice the gay presence in Dupont, the conglomerate of colorful stores and bars along U street, and as you got to Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant you’d start to be enveloped in the Latino community.  That’s what first came to mind when I saw this photo.  The juxtaposition of a bikini babes calendar with the Virgin Mary (or Virgen de Guadalupe) is not an uncommon site as you walk past the storefronts in Mt P.  You almost feel like you’re in another country.

This journey that you just went on, well, it takes place in less than an hour.

Welcome to DC.

Comedy in DC, The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
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Hexagon 2009: What So Proudly We Bailed

hexagon2009posterart

Political satire. Comedy. Music. Charity. Hexagon has been putting on satirical musical theater performances in DC since 1955, and every year, a different local charity benefits from the proceeds of ticket sales. Due to my spaciness in getting this posted, tickets are now nearly sold out, but there are still seats available for several shows! You can still catch this year’s show, What So Proudly We Bailed, until April 3rd This year, the beneficiary is Rebuilding Together, which does low-cost home repairs for low-income DC area residents. So it’s a fun night out that helps your neighbors. What’s not to love.

The Features, Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 3/20 – 3/22/09

Photo courtesy of quinnums
They make a big deal about the cherry blossoms and spring here in DC, courtesy of quinnums

In case you had no doubt, spring is finally here in DC. Hope you all were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather and the end of winter’s grasp. From the photos I saw in Flickr, there was a lot of hustle and bustle in the area, sampling everything from concerts to the circus to museums to the opening buds of the cherry blossoms.

Fair warning: we’ll be having a lot of cherry blossom photos over the next few weeks, since it is arguably one of the best times to photograph DC. And it never gets old.

Meantimes, enjoy the sampling of shots from our area photogs from this past weekend! Continue reading →

Interviews, Music, People, The Features
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He Loves DC: Stephen Kilroy

 

Middle Distance Runner loves Ben's Chili Bowl.

Middle Distance Runner loves Ben's Chili Bowl. Photo by Susan Pleiman

I’m personally a big fan of local band Middle Distance Runner–their shows are fun, the songs are catchy, and they seem to have a pretty good sense of humor about it all. They’re on tour right now, and they will be coming to Iota Saturday, March 28. I got a chance to ask lead singer Stephen Kilroy a few questions about DC, the new album, and their Celebrity Deathmatch-style video.

How long have you lived in DC?

I’ve lived in the DC area for about 16 years.

What are your favorite things about the area?

I like the feeling of being at the center of what’s going on in the world. Not just by being in the nation’s capitol, but being on the east coast, close to so many other big cities. I also like chili smokes. Continue reading →

Night Life, Special Events, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Greatest Show On Earth

Photo courtesy of
‘Fly’
courtesy of ‘Thomas Hawk’

So I think March is cursed. These past two weeks have been some of the toughest I’ve had in recent history, both personally and professionally,  and so when I was offered a night at the circus? YES PLEASE. Let’s escape, I’m ready for trapezes and clowns to distract me from my own messes. So off we went to the big tent, err, Verizon Center for a night of magic and performance with the Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

In short? It was exactly what I needed.

It may have been a touch cheesy, but it was surprisingly more Cirque than Disney on Ice on the scale. Most of the acts really DID have me on the edge of my seat, or impressed with the acrobatics, and I thoroughly enjoyed the silly musical numbers if only because there was so much to watch – from clowns, mini horses, motorcycles, goats, spinning teacups and one random porcupine, the show truly had it all.

Continue reading →

Monumental
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Monumental: Enjoying inside

Photo courtesy of
‘Solitude’
courtesy of ‘sashapo’

Our weather seems to be doing its best to find painful and interesting ways to whipsaw between different combinations of wind, cold, rain, gloom and shine. It can be discouraging to try to plan an outdoor trip more than five minutes in advance and downright unpleasant to be out there sometimes. So in recognition of this fact Monumental’s going to spend the day indoors for a change and let someone else do the outdoor work.

In this case, photographer Lee Friedlander, who beat us to the monument-stalking by about 35 years. The Smithsonian possesses a large collection of photos he originally published in the 1976 book American Monuments, a collection of photos he took of monuments all over the country. The book is long out of print, but fifty-six of the photos are currently on display. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, Special Events, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Denyce Graves Lends Her Voice to Help Ellington School

‘The Kennedy Center‘
Courtesy of public.resource.org

Denyce Graves, a native of Washington, DC returned here last month for a recital to support her alma mater, DC’s Duke Ellington School for the Arts. The Kennedy Center was crowded for the recital, which featured a nice mixture of classical, jazz, gospel, and contemporary selections as well as the talents of the Ellington School Show Choir.

Miss Graves, ably accompanied by pianist Joseph Thalken, started the evening with a selection from the opera Adrianna Lecouvreur that highlighted her dexterity as a singer. From loud to soft, intense to whimsical, and low to high, she gave a glimpse of what the rest of the night had in store.

Unamplified through the operatic first half of the program, Graves paused between numbers to enlighten the audience about the pieces she was performing, and relayed a few thoughts about her time at the Ellington School, where she was a student in the 1980s.

After she sang Habanera from Carmen, Graves joked that the crowd enjoyed it because they recognized the tune. But the applause wasn’t just because it was familiar. Her lyrical phrasing contrasted with the staccato beat of the piano, and Graves mastered it and made it her own.

She closed out the first half of the program with two African-American Spirituals and a piece by Gene Scheer, American Anthem, which seemed appropriate for a concert in her hometown of Washington, DC.

The Duke Ellington School Ellington Show Choir under the direction of Samuel L. Bonds gave Graves a brief respite as they performed two energetic selections. Dancing around the stage, the black-tie and black gown clad high schoolers put on an impressive energetic show.

Graves returned to the stage with the haunting Milonga sin Palabras, a piece whose lyrics consist entirely of “oohs” and “ahhs.” Sung by Graves, it inspires similar reactions from the audience, along with enthusiastic applause. She finished the concert with more recent material, borrowing from jazz, blues, and even the Beatles to round out the very varied recital.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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American Leading at Halftime

Photo courtesy of
‘For Two’
courtesy of ‘brmurray’

The hopes were not high for American, seeded at #14, and up against NCAA
Powerhouse #3 Villanova, but here they are, exceeding expectations massively. Halfway through their first round game, they’re up on ‘Nova 41-31. I’m going to repeat that, because it’s not a typo: American is beating Villanova by ten at the half. Tell your friends. Cinderella’s bucking for a night on the town.

Update: Ten minutes remain and they’re still up by 8. Hang tight, Eagles!

Update 2: Three minutes to go, and now AU is down by 5. Time to get back in the game, Eagles! Gotta make it count!

Update 3: And it’s over. AU can’t hold on to a halftime lead, and goes down in the first round.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Terps Win Round 1!

Photo courtesy of
‘storm’
courtesy of ‘mhaw’

The Terps are putting on a pretty decent show against Cal here in the first round of the Big Dance here. They’re up 74-59 with just over 4 minutes to go, and they’ve been nothing short of excellent in their first showing. Here’s to the 10-7 upset!!

Update: There it is, the Terps go on! 84-71 is the final. Congrats!

DC Victory Gardens, The Daily Feed, We Green DC
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Homegrown Veggies at the White House

Photo courtesy of
‘what a find!’
courtesy of ‘NatalieHG’

It looks like we’re not the only ones with DC Victory Gardens this year- the First Family will be starting a vegetable garden on the White House grounds. I don’t see a lot of confirmation that this will be the big ol’ organic garden that Alice Waters of Chez Panisse has been pushing for, but the example of growing your own fresh vegetables is nonetheless welcome from such a high-profile family.  And you know, if they need any gardening tips, the Obamas are welcome to hit us up in the comments…  I wonder if they’ll be doing any preserving of their home-grown produce in the White House kitchen?

UPDATE, 3/20: The New York Times has some more details about the garden. Fifty-five varieties of vegetables, grown in raised beds, total cost: $200. Awesome.

(Thanks to Twitter user @lorig for the tip! Do you follow us on Twitter yet?)

Downtown, Special Events, Sports Fix
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Hoop Dreams: DC Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘20080220_2740’
courtesy of ‘vcheeseman’

I love this time of year — there’s a buzz, an excitement, a renewed fervor, a sense of possibility and hope for overcoming impossible odds. That’s right folks, the 2009 NCAA basketball tournaments are back! Granted, I liked it a lot more when I had 2 weeks’ Spring Break that fell exactly during the first two rounds – glorious days of non-stop basketball – but, we deal. And if need-be, we use sick days.

Most of the games (men’s and women’s) are on CBS (listings here including who is announcing so you can avoid Clark Kellogg) or the ESPN channels (listings here). The games are viewable through ESPN360.com and CBSsportsline.com I believe.

District Pride! Who do we have? Let’s see about the contenders…

Ladies First. Round 1 at College Park, MD – the Comcast Center (whatwhat!) Continue reading →

Thrifty District
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Thrifty District: Staying Cute in a Recession

Photo courtesy of
‘Necklaces’
courtesy of ‘lorigoldberg’

This Thrifty District is going to be kind of lady-focused. I apologize, male WLDC readers (and lady readers who are not so into accessorizing and hairstyles), but we’ll have some college basketball coverage this afternoon to balance it out, okay?

So, the economy is in the crapper. People are getting laid off all around you. Maybe you’ve been laid off yourself. You need to cut costs, but you also don’t want to look like a scrub while furiously networking and trying to secure job interviews. The best way to improve what’s already in your closet (especially if you’ve taken Jenn’s advice on cheap-but-chic clothing) is with a good haircut and accessories, but that can be expensive too, especially if you’re unemployed. Fortunately, there are ways around that. Continue reading →

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Ion

Photo courtesy of shakespearetheatreco

courtesy of shakespearetheatreco

Yes, there are puppets. More on that later.

I chose the above picture out of STC’s flickr stream to give you some idea about some of the unusual choices that director Ethan McSweeny takes in adapting this Euripides play. The caption for the above photo is Patricia Santomasso in rehearsal for the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of “Ion” And she’s not rehearsing a post-death pose – that’s from a period when her character, a member of the chorus, is sunning herself on a rock. At the temple of Delphi. Since she and the other handmaidens are dressed and behave like crass American tourists on vacation.

As Dave Barry would say, I Am Not Making This Up. Continue reading →

Essential DC, Talkin' Transit, The Features, WMATA
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Talkin’ Transit: Stop-Gaps and Cuts

Photo courtesy of
‘CSC_1718’, courtesy of ‘Ghost_Bear’

By now, everyone has heard (or is aware) that WMATA has a $29M gap in their budget to fill. And soon. Early suggestions by some parties (coughGrahamcough) was to use part of the $200M bailout money to fill the gap. Which is a stupid idea. And most board members agreed; that idea got tossed last week. (I’m glad there’s some actual common sense being demonstrated now over in Metro’s HQ; use the stimulus money for the listed projects originally put forth. It’s not a magic piggy-bank to use for stop-gaps.)

So what does WMATA do? Michael Perkins over at GGW gave a great rundown of the four options that Metro really has at this point. Probably one of the most controversial to many is the option of cutting services. Yet Metro seems to be holding this one option at arm’s length. It’s very much a hot-button topic for commuters, because no matter what Metro decides to cut (if at all this year), some people will be unhappy.

So let’s pretend you’re Catoe & Co: What services, routes or other Metro minutia would you cut in order to help bridge that gap? We’ll assume that the most obvious and best option – jurisdictional subsidy increases – isn’t viable and that Metro’s only option now is to cut down services and / or increase fares. What do you do? What’s most fair to you? Continue reading →