Category Archives: The Features

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

Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed
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What Car Talk knows that WMATA doesn’t

Paulo’s video of the elevator debacle yesterday reminded me of a Car Talk puzzler from a few years ago that made me think about WMATA and their seemingly endless escalator problems. Sadly my thoughts haven’t changed much since I heard this in 2004…

The puzzler, which Tom and Ray credit to Irving Biggio, goes like this: “In our fair city of London, England– not far from the real Cambridge—many of the Underground, or subway, stations have three escalators.

It’s always the case that two of them are up escalators, and one is a down escalator. It doesn’t matter which way the rush hour crowds are moving, or if more people are arriving or leaving, or the time of day: There are always two that go up, and one that goes down. The same is true for underground stations out in the suburbs.

Why?”

some tips and a link to the answer after the jump. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Interviews, Music
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District Mixtape: Bottles/Cans

Bottles/Cans

Bottles/Cans

Bottles/Cans are performing at the Black Cat Tuesday night. We caught up with them between their stops in Minneapolis and New York to talk about making music here in Washington – even when it means falling through a stage.

A live recording of Bottles/Cans’ song “Everybody Knows,” is introduced by letting the crowd know that “This one is pretty rowdy.” Rowdy is a good general introduction to Bottles/Cans music – swaggering, southern influenced, and steeped in a bit of jazz and blues (and maybe a bit of PBR as well).
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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Good deals and dopey decisions

Photo courtesy of Me

There’s a 50% off deal going on at online vendor Fathead’s website where you can get the Nationals logo in a 4-foot by 3 foot removable wall-sticker when you buy some other full-priced Fathead thing. (Okay, you can get any MLB logo but why would you want any of the others?) Their website has kind of a cool feature where you can see what the Nats logo your selected MLB logo will look like in a bedroom, office, game room or den. It’s just a little auto-compositing where they overlay it on a stock image, but it’s still nifty.

Well, the tech is nifty. The selection of images for sample bedrooms is a little less than brilliant, however, since the kid sitting in the room and looking up at the logo is wearing an A’s sweatshirt. I can only imagine he’s looking up there and thinking “Wait, who? I’ve never seen any of those games on tv…”

Poor stock photo choices, screen captured from Fathead

Foggy Bottom, Talkin' Transit, WMATA, WTF?!
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Foggy Bottom Metro Escalator Mess

Big mess at Foggy Bottom this morning. Watch this video:

Foggy Bottom is the singularly worst-designed Metro station I’ve used in the system: only one exit, twin escalators going up together from platform to mezzanine, and just a single escalator going down to the platform, no stairs, traffic bottlenecks all over the place. The situation was made worse this morning when only one of three mezzanine-to-street-level escalators was working — going down. The middle escalator was closed for repairs, and the escalator going up was open but off, serving as stairs. I’ve seen it like that before, but throw in a rush hour crowd in a time of “high” fuel crisis ridership, and you get a foot traffic disaster.

I didn’t even bother joining the line; it was faster to go back in, double back to Farragut West, and walk from there. When I got back to Foggy Bottom to get some video of people emerging from the system, a few daring riders had resorted to running up against the down escalator — to cheers from the crowd, surprisingly.

WMATA, This is intolerable. You have reached a new level of EPIC ESCALATOR FAIL this morning — even worse than on epic multifail day.

Update: I was on TV today for this video: Fox 5 News Edge story, featuring a quick interview with me outside Foggy Bottom station this afternoon. Washington Post’s “Get There” blog also covers the story: No Way Up at Foggy Bottom, and Clearing Out Foggy Bottom.

Media, Monumental, The Daily Feed
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WaPo guest blogs Monumental

Well, not really. Tom’s second in our ongoing feature on the monuments in our city goes live at 2p today (see the first – about Farragut Square – here), but today’s Washington Post Weekend section contains a story called 10 memorable memorials. They’re some interesting picks, and worth suffering through the bad interface on the website to look at… though only barely. 4 lines at a time, really? More curious than the painful web layout is that the print edition uses different photos for the Kermit and Victims of Communism monuments.

On the other hand, reading it online can allow you to compare some of WaPo’s shots with what’s available on Flickr. Most notable is how different an impression you get from the Post’s close-up shot of the National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism than this wide shot by user kimberlyfaye. I also like Aaron Webb’s shot of George Mason chatting with this fellow, apparently in town for a lumberjack blogger convention. (I kid, Mike – love the tuque! But no matter what, don’t miss andertho’s shot of the Titanic memorial, which puts WaPo’s to shame.

Other quick searches here, here, here, here, and here, plus shots of multiple versions from around the world of the Spitir of Haida Gwaii here.

All Politics is Local, Monumental, Penn Quarter, The District
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Monumental: GAR Stephenson Memorial

Monumental: Stephenson GAR Monument

While the Grand Army of the Republic might seem like something out of a bad pulp science fiction story, it’s also something that’s fairly real to American History. The monument to it, and its founder, stand just off Pennsylvania Avenue in Penn Quarter. The Grand Army was a fraternal organization established in 1866 for retired soldiers of the Union Army, and stood in existence until 1956, when its last member died. It was super-ceded by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, founded in 1881 to preserve the mission of the original organization.

The GAR was one of the more powerful political organizations in the late 19th century, helping to establish Old Soldiers’ Homes, which would later become the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. In addition, their organization was partly responsible for establishing the Memorial Day Holiday at the end of May, as part of their Decoration Day campaign.

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Entertainment, Music, Night Life, We Love Arts
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Great Noise Ensemble at Capital Fringe

GNE@Hirshhorn
great noise ensemble uploaded by hirshhorn

I want to like the Great Noise Ensemble. I really do. They are a plucky bunch of kids, fighting the good fight of aesthetic diversity, they play that post-minimalist, rock/chamber fusion that’s all the rage with the kids, they’ve won WAMMIES two years in a row, and they have a creation story that a Marvel hero could envy. Even more so, this town needs some new blood in its New (Concert) Music Scene, and an outfit that tries to play varied, forward-looking repertoire would be a great addition to the community.

GNE performed Wednesday evening at the Harmon Center for the arts, the ensemble’s second performance in as many years at the Capital Fringe festival, another young, forward-looking organization that is growing in leaps and bounds. The concert, entitled ‘Carnal Node: Sex Noise and Lies in the Internet Age’ showed off the good and the bad about this group: Rhetoric surpassing event, ambition surpassing execution, but all with a promise of better things to come.

The program title sets up a rather specific theme for the show, but only one of the pieces seems to bear much relation to it— rather than telling us anything new about relationships, or technology, or lying, the program as was rather more interested in placing GNE firmly in the rock-derived, post-minimal camp exemplified by the many-tentacled corporate entity known as Bang on a Can; indeed one work had been commissioned and first performed by BOAC through the ‘People’s Commissioning Fund.’ The instrumentation varied from electric bass, guitar, drums and brass to soprano and an ‘extended pierrot,‘ but all the work played with rhythm and phrasing in a manner more akin to Talking Heads than to Mozart, searching for that sweet spot between ‘concert music’ and ‘popular music.’
Continue reading →

Adventures, Fun & Games, Travel
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Beyond the Beltway: Natural Bridge

Photo courtesy of tsmyther
Natural Bridge, courtesy of tsmyther

We’re starting a new series that we’ll post twice a month, looking at various locations, attractions and other fun spots to hit that exist within a half-day’s drive from the Beltway. It’s a way to give you ideas for some fun outside our little circle of asphalt here on the East Coast, without costing you any more than a tank (or less) of gas. Well, aside from tickets, food and the inevitable souvenir, that is.

I figured I’d kick off our first entry with a place that involved good ol’ George; you can never go wrong with our first President. So where in Virginia did George leave his mark early in his multi-faceted career?

Natural Bridge, Virginia. Continue reading →

Life in the Capital, Sports Fix, The District
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Kastles Trump Aces After Rain Delay

Anna Kournikova by Max Cook

The Washington Kastles ended their regular season last night with a 22-17 win over the Western Conference’s last place St Louis Aces. Unfortunately, a beautiful night of tennis turned into quite a rainstorm. The sold out crowd was invited to stay dry in the VIP tent in hopes that the rain would pass, but as soon as the storm got worse and the tent started flooding, team owner Mark Ein made the call to move the match to the East Potomac Tennis Center at Hains Point. Once play resumed, sets of mixed doubles and women’s doubles were split between the two teams, forcing the match into overtime which was won by the Washington-Jones women’s duo.

Continue reading →

Talkin' Transit, The District, Travel
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Diamond Lanes at Dulles

My job puts me on the road.  A lot.  And, because I fly from DC, I’m a United Airlines Frequent Flyer.  For those of you in the know I’ve been a 1K for five years now. For those of you that don’t know what that is – let’s just say I get in a lot of airplanes. So one day Tom asked me “what is it like to travel out of DC?” and after a lengthy explanation he asked me if I would blog about it. So here goes…

Dulles is always under construction. Let’s just assume that is a constant. The benefit is that construction means that there are always new things happening and changing at the airport. Normally they fall in to the category of “oh no” or “not again”. I’m sure I will write about a few of those later.

Imagine my surprise to find a good change! Dulles has something new called the “Diamond Lanes”. These lanes are supposed to be for “frequent travelers (2 or more times a month)”. And – put down your coffee before continuing – the lines are really short! That’s because they are difficult to find. The Diamond Lanes are downstairs in arrivals (baggage claim). To find them, head over to Door 4. There, about 50 feet from the Clear lanes and the Employee lanes, is a new security section. Voila, you just found the back door. Continue reading →

Entertainment, The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
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Last Minute: monochrom

If you’re looking for something entertaining this evening, check out Monochrom: Law and Second Order tonight, hosted by HacDC, at 8:30 PM at St. Stephen’s Church in Columbia Heights (16th & Newton NW). It’s sure to be a wild and absolutely crazy show. The rumour is they spent yesterday in Pennsylvania Amish Country shooting an Amish porn video after a weekend performing at The Last Hope, a hacker conference in NYC.

monochrom is a worldwide operating collective dealing with technology, art, context hacking and philosophy and was founded in 1993. So to sum up, monochrom is an unpeculiar mixture of proto-aesthetic fringe work, pop attitude, subcultural science and political activism. Their mission is conducted everywhere, but first and foremost in culture-archeological digs into the seats (and pockets) of ideology and entertainment. monochrom released a leftist retro-gaming project, established a 1 baud semaphore line through the streets of San Francisco, started an illegal space race through Los Angeles, buried people alive in Vancouver, and cracked the hierarchies of the art system with The Thomann Project.

News, Talkin' Transit, The District, WMATA
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Talkin’ Transit: Four More Years!

Photo courtesy of brianmka

Metro Center, courtesy of brianmka

No, no, this isn’t about the current administration.

We’re talking WMATA and their plan to rehabilitate the Red Line during a four-year stretch. Meaning that aside from rush hour, the most-used line in the system will see off-peak and weekend delays for an entire presidential term.

And if approved, it’ll come right at the time when daily ridership records are falling left and right like so many dominoes. Continue reading →

Featured Photo
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Norton Hears Union Station Fools

union station hearing

From left: David Ball, USRC; Bryant Chambers, Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc., and Daniel Levy, Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation, as captured by Erin M

Some days our elected yet non-voting Representative does me proud. Yesterday, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) took on Union Station’s non-policy on photography with a good grilling of David Ball, President of USRC, Daniel Levy of Ashkenazy Acquisition, and Bryan Chambers of Jones Lang LaSalle. (Norton’s meeting recap.)

Before you get confused, Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC)is the federally chartered nonprofit that is redeveloping Union Station, which leases the non-Amtrack portion of the station to Ashkenazy Acquisition, which subleases retail areas (and maybe security) to Jones Lang LaSalle.

Why do these fools matter? Because the security guards are harassing photographers in Union Station despite it being a public space – in action and maybe still in legal parlance. And as DC area photographers know from Free Our Streets, photography is a First Amendment right in public space, even if its leased to a private corporation.

Continue reading →

Interviews, Life in the Capital, Music
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District Mixtape: Zulu Pearls


photo of Zulu Pearls at the Black Cat by flickr-rickr

Being a musician in this town can be a challenge. Just ask Zach Van Hoozer, founder of Arlington-based pop band Zulu Pearls. “It seems like there is just no continuity, nothing that holds things together,” he remarks. Indeed, “D.C. can seem like it is just a carbon copy of an actual scene from a bigger city.”

Nonetheless, Van Hoozer, who grew up in the area, leaving only to attend college in Richmond, VA before returning, feels that the iconic, DIY sprit of D.C. has permeated his approach to making music. “If you do not feel that DIY attitude about things,” he remarks, “you just aren’t paying attention.” In a similar, do-it-himself vein, he has also launched YESORNODC, a great website chronicling pop culture, with a special focus on the Washington area.
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Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Metro Computer Dies

metrofail.png

Somewhere, deep within the bowels of the Metro tunnels lives the supercomputer that runs the trains. It keeps them running without (often) hitting other trains, it keeps the schedule on pace, and it powers those fancy clocks on each platform.

Unfortunately, it took a shit in the middle of Rush Hour.

Meaning that all the signals for the entirety of the Metro system are currently offline. Meaning it’s tough to move trains.

Did I mention that it gets kinda hot down in those stations? And the platforms get kinda full? Take a cab, if you haven’t left work yet.

Life in the Capital, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, The District
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Only Two Kastles Games Left!

Sacha Jones

Sacha Jones by Max Cook

While the Washington Kastles lost their match yesterday (23-19) against the Philadelphia Freedoms, they played their hearts out until the bitter end. Thanks to an intense women’s singles effort by Sacha Jones, the game went into overtime where she was quickly defeated by Audra Cohen, 1-0.

Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The District
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National(s) Crisis

Teddy still winless
Teddy still winless by afagen

It’s hard to say good things about the Nationals. Last in the NL East, and 15 games back of the Mets. 23 games under .500.

But, hey, we won 2 of 3 from the Braves in Atlanta. And, Sunday’s win, much like Saturday’s, was proof that the Nationals do, in fact, have an offense that can produce some serious runs when the stars align. Unfortunately, most of the time, we’re in discord.

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Life in the Capital, The District, The Mall, We Love Arts
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Tourist in Your Own Town: Smithsonian Weekend

DC at dusk
DC at dusk by brianmka

I’d lived here easily a year before I ever ventured down to the Mall and saw something at the Smithsonian. As many of said in our entries on why we love this town, the free museums in Washington are replete with options for the local tourist. As “Staycations” become more popular with gas prices on the rise, go out and see some of your own city and enjoy it.

This first column will focus on a few of the open exhibitions that are happening in the Smithsonian Museums on the Mall. But, as we explore the District’s Tourist options, we’ll be heading far afield from the Mall. Feel free to drop us hints in the comments about where your favorite local spots are.

For now, though, let’s take a look at what’s going on at the Smithsonian this weekend!

Continue reading →

Food and Drink, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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$7.50? You freakin’ kidding me?

Expensive beer

I had never seen beer this expensive before going to a Nationals game. Sure I had a good time, but that $7.50 beer stuck in my craw a little. I just got invited to go to another game and will likely go but will likely not buy a beer or even a bottle of water, since the water costs what a beer should cost.

What do you do to enjoy a cool drink at the ball game? Do you bend over and pay the $7.50? Drain a 12-pack on Metro on the way over? Smuggle a flask into the ballpark? I’d love to hear your solutions to this.

Featured Photo, Life in the Capital, Special Events, Sports Fix, The District
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Washington Kastles Stop ‘Big Mac’

Mashona Washington

Mashona Washington by Max Cook

In a dramatic come-from-behind victory, the Washington Kastles showed John McEnroe and the New York Sportimes that they are not to be messed with on their home court. What started out looking like an easy New York win, the match became a slug fest that came down to a women’s doubles “Supertiebreaker”. Mashona Washington and Sacha Jones out dueled Milagros Sequera and Hana Sromova, beating them 7 to 5 and giving the Kastles an 18-17 win.

Continue reading →