Category Archives: The Features

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

Sports Fix
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Cowboys defeat Redskins 27-24

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

The Redskins played there most entertaining game of the season this past Sunday as they fell in overtime 27-24 to their rival Cowboys. Some of the typical issues that have plagued the Redskins this season were still in evidence, but they were able to alleviate many of thoseissues. Roy Helu was the teams leading rusher with 35 yards on eight attempts which is unacceptable in a game as tightly contested as this. The Redskins did have success passing the ball and it is almost wrong to complain about sticking with what worked, but a more balanced attack could have reaped the rewards of better time of possession and less opportunity to turn the ball over.

Turning the ball over remains the Redskins biggest issue. The Cowboys were able to work with a short field and draw first blood on a Dez Bryant touchdown after Fred Davis fumbled the ball reaching for a first down. The Redskins have enough issues with the quarterback getting the ball to the receivers that they do not need the receivers to then turn the ball over or drop a pass. Fred Davis has been one of if not the only consistent performer on the offense this season and is on a very short list of Redskins that should be considered part of the future.

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Sports Fix
By

Redskins Preview Week Eleven: The Cowboys

Photo courtesy of
‘appropriate for dallas weekâ�¦’
courtesy of ‘dharmabumx’

The first game this season between the Redskins and the Cowboys was a defensive match-up won by the Cowboys in the fourth quarter. The Redskins had the lead for most of the game and were able to apply constant pressure to the Cowboys defense for most of the game, but in the end the Cowboys defense adjusted and stopped the Redskins. A lot has changed since that time. Santana Moss, Chris Cooley, Kory Lichtensteiger, and Tim Hightower are now all hurt. Rex Grossman lost his job to John Beck and then won it back when John Beck turned out to be a less aggressive version of Rex Grossman (all of the turnovers with none of the down field passes).

The Cowboys have had issues of their own. One week the offense looks dynamic picking apart the other team’s defense and then the next Tony Romo can’t do much of anything but have a fourth quarter meltdown. The strength of the Cowboys is their defense. They have allowed the tenth fewest points per game at 20.2 and the ninth fewest yards a game at 327.8. The Redskins defense has allowed slightly fewer points per game at 19.8 and slightly more yards a game at 337.1.

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Dupont Circle, Real World DC, The Features, Tourism
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Laogai Museum – A Dupont Detour

Photo courtesy of
‘Laogai Museum 4’
courtesy of ‘jcm_DC’

The Laogai Museum may be small, but it packs a punch. Tucked away in the old Real World DC house off Dupont Circle, its one-floor exhibit explores the dark underbelly of Chinese labor camps and human rights policies.

“Laogai” means “reform through labor” and refers to oppressive tactics the museum claims China has used to punish political prisoners since 1949. Harry Wu, a survivor of the Laogai camps, founded the museum in 2008 as part of the larger Laogai Research Foundation. The museum moved into its current location last April, where they now offer free admission and guided tours.

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We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends – November 18-20

Photo courtesy of
‘Bloomingdale’
courtesy of ‘Pappa91’

Tom: Weekend! And it’s a really big weekend. We’re picking up a whole tasty lamb at the Bloomingdale Farmers Market on Sunday morning, just in time for Thanksgiving. Add to that a brined turkey we’re grabbing later in the week. This is going to be a meatacular week. Add into that the final week of the 2-for-1 sale at Great Country Farms and you’ve got a fresh-and-local way to put some extra boost into your holidays. I’m stoked.

Mosley: After a week on the road for work, I am certainly looking forward to a slow weekend.  Saturday has a demonstration of falconry at the National Geographic Museum; it’s connected to the Anglo-Saxon Golden Hoard exhibit.  I love birds!  Also on Saturday is a walk-through of Cardoza High School; it’s to give people a chance to see the school before it undergoes renovations.  I’ve never seen Cardoza and it sounds like it will be a great chance to see the school and get a sense of it’s history.  Finally, on Sunday I’m thinking of going by the National Building Museum and seeing the new exhibit Unbuilt Washington.  It opens this weekend and it looks like it will be a fascinating tour of what wasn’t built in DC.

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Sports Fix
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Bryce Harper’s Arizona Domination a Step Towards the Majors

Photo courtesy of
‘Bryce Harper’
courtesy of ‘SportsAngle.com’

The ball was hit at just the right trajectory to cause problems. It should have been a standard F8 settled under early and caught with relative ease in left-center field, but it was hit at just the right trajectory. The centerfielder raced to his right and Harper raced to his left. The centerfield held out his hand as a sign that Harper should stop as he settled to where the ball should soon come to rest in his glove, but the ball hung up, and then the sun played its first trick. The centerfielder threw his hands in the air giving the universal sign for, “I lost it.” Harper started to come in for the ball, but soon the centerfielder recovered and relocated the ball and called Harper off again. As soon as the centerfielder resettled he again threw his hands in the air and Harper ran in for the ball. By this time it was too late to settle under it for the routine catch and Harper stabbed at it like a line drive. The ball nicked off his glove and fell harmfully to the ground as the batter raced around first on his way to second.

Roaming the outfield is not Bryce Harper’s natural habitat. Harper still has trouble reading the ball off the bat and sometimes ends up taking bad routes on balls. The missed catch with the sun playing tricks wasn’t Harper’s only missed catch in the three games I watched him play. When someone sees Harper on the baseball field they are seeing him where he belongs. He has the work ethic and the dedication to learn the outfield. It is hard to miss Harper’s big truck in the players’ parking lot, and it is always one of the first vehicles parked. He is committed to making himself the best baseball player he can be, and if learning the outfield is the last step before the majors then Harper is going to learn the outfield.

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Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Features, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Thanksgiving 2011 Roundup

Roast Turkey

Roast Turkey
Courtesy of tbridge

You’ve been fighting off a cold. You burned last year’s turkey. You’re feeding far too many relatives than you can count on your fingers and toes. Whatever the reason may be for why you won’t be cooking this year’s Thanksgiving feast, we’ve got you covered with a handy list of what restaurants are offering for Thanksgiving. So take the apron and oven mitts off and relish in the fact that you can watch all the Macy’s Day Parade and football you want come turkey day.

Read the full list after the jump.
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Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Beertown


Photo by Clinton Brandhagen

When I asked a friend of mine if he wanted to come see Dog and Pony DC’s production of Beertown with me he replied, “No thanks- it doesn’t look like my type of thing.”

He’s right- if you expect to simply sit quietly through a show then Beertown isn’t for you.

However if you are ready to partake in a potluck dessert spread, slap on a nametag, and participate in some rousing discussion then I cannot recommend Beertown enough.

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Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: The Foo Fighters @ Verizon Center, 11/11/11


photos by Andrew Markowitz.

When We Love DC was invited to cover The Foo Fighters on Friday night at the Verizon Center I offered it up to one of our other music writers because, frankly, I just don’t listen to their music too much. I have much respect for Dave Grohl and all of the interesting projects he is responsible for, or has been a part of, but of all the music he has made The Foo Fighters is the most vanilla to me. When compared to crap on mainstream radio The Foo Fighters shine as one of the last examples of successful good rock music. But when you stack the band’s output up against Killing Joke or Nirvana, Probot or Scream; I am much more interested in all of the above. So I was content to pass this show up (even though the triple bill with Social Distortion and The Joy Formidable was intriguing). Then last minute scheduling conflicts reared their ugly head and I ended up pinch hitting this one anyway.

So I found myself sitting in a damn good seat at the Verizon Center not really knowing what to expect. The Joy Formidable, Social Distortion, and The Foo Fighters are all bands that somehow I have never seen despite my prolific live music experiences and their reputations as excellent live acts. To be quite honest, like The Foo Fighters, Social Distortion is a band that although I respect I never really listen to either. I’m much more of a DK or Black Flag man when it comes to West Coast Punk. A friend of a friend has been trying to talk me into The Joy Formidable for a couple years now and I went into the show probably the most curious about them. A few days before the show I posted on FB about the show by saying, “I’m expecting to be either seriously impressed or completely bored.”

Guess which one it was?
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Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Dupont Circle Streetcar Tunnel
Dupont Circle Streetcar Tunnel by ep_jhu

There are few things that get my mind racing like the secret history of Washington, DC. It can be hidden tunnels under Dupont Circle or miniature Washington Monuments buried by the real thing; I just love it. Flickr user ep_jhu stumbled across a part of DC which isn’t exactly secret, but is just not well remembered: the old trolley tunnels under Dupont Circle.You’ve no doubt seen the old streetcar entrances in your travels around the circle, and there has been talk of developing the area into commercial ventures. Though I don’t know how he found his way in, Ep_jhu found a historical DC landmark which isn’t often photographed. The colors natural to the scene, subtle as they are, speak to utilitarian construction. Rather than shooting the scene from eye level and having all walls converge at similar angles, he shot low, emphasizing the size of the tunnel while making it more dramatic. Check out his other photos from the tunnels. They’re all very well done.

Contribute all your great shots from around town to our flickr pool! You may just get featured on this blog.

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Girl In A Coma @ DC9, 11/9/2011

photos by Aminta S. Nieves-Candamo

San Antonio rock trio Girl In A Coma played a power-charged set to a crowded DC9 Wednesday night. They are currently in the middle of their US tour in support of their latest album Exits & All The Rest, released November 1st on Blackheart Records. They were joined by punky openers Brothers of Brazil and The Coathangers. Continue reading →

Sports Fix
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Dolphins defeat Redskins 20-9

Photo courtesy of
’49ers15′
courtesy of ‘Homer McFanboy’

It is starting to feel like the Redskins are playing the same game each week. The names and faces of the opponents change, but the results and the recipe are the same. The defense struggles against the run, the secondary gets torn apart when the opposing quarterback gets time, and the Redskins offense is the Redskins offense. The change from Beck to Grossman did some good as Grossman was at least able to get the Redskins into the Red Zone, but then remembered he was Rex Grossman and promptly turned the ball over in the fashion that has become all too familiar to those that have watched Grossman through his career.

It wasn’t all bad for the Redskins. Rookies Ryan Kerrigan and Leonard Hankerson had good games. Kerrigan had two sacks one of which caused a fumble and Hankerson had eight catches for over 100 yards. Both players were drafted in 2011 and are part of the Redskins commitment to rebuilding. It gets harder every week to look for positives but they do exist and it doesn’t all have to be about draft position. Kerrigan and Orakpo are a good one two punch and having a solid pass rush is important for a team.

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Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 11/11-11/13

Photo courtesy of
‘Moon, Clouds, Birds’
courtesy of ‘ep_jhu’

It was the short, long weekend, before the big, Turkey long weekend. And judging by the pictures, people took advantage of the extra day. And all of us at We Love DC hope you had an especially memorable 11/11/11; either by honoring our nation’s veterans, or by wearing corduroy…wait, that doesn’t make sense. Eh, I had to work on Friday, so my brain doesn’t have that special rest everyone else has. Whether you are rested or not, check out the pictures from the weekend; they are of particularly good note this time around! Continue reading →

Entertainment, Interviews, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Cirque du Soleil Skip Roper Adrienn Banhegyi & Quidam

Title : Zoé, John, Target Picture credit : Matt Beard Costume credit : Dominique Lemieux ©2011 Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil’s travelling show Quidam is coming to the Verizon Center this week (November 16 to 20). This particular show’s premise is: “A young girl’s escape into a world of imagination.” That leaves room for some provoking theater combined with acrobatics, live music, and a killer light show (among other things).

Skip Roper Adrienn Banhegyi, 28, took the time to talk about Quidam over the phone, giving We Love DC the 411 about what makes this Cirque du Soleil show special.

Here’s what she had to say: Continue reading →

Sports Fix
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Redskins Preview Week Ten: The Dolphins

Photo courtesy of
‘Introduction to Bottle Nose’
courtesy of ‘Danilo.Lewis|Fotography’

It is hard to believe that at one point this season the Redskins were 3-1. It is also hard to believe that this will be John Beck’s eighth career start and he is still looking for his first victory. When John Beck took over for Rex Grossman it was because Grossman showed why no other team had interest in him and it was time to find out what John Beck was. John Beck might be one of the few quarterbacks in the NFL who is worse than Rex Grossman, and neither of them should have a starting job again after this season.

To be fair to Beck the Redskins don’t help him out by lacking skill players and an offensive line that can protect the quarterback or open up lanes for the running back. The Redskins offense is one of the worst in recent memory and it is a surprise that they are only 12th worst in yards a game, but no surprise they are fifth worst in points a game. The Redskins have almost no running game averaging just 89.9 yards a game which is fifth worst in the NFL. Of course the issue with the running game could be because of the passing games inability to make opposing teams pay for stacking the line and putting eight men in the box.

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We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends – November 11-13

Mallard Ducklings in November

Welcome to your weekend, Washington. As always, your true-life weekend agendas from We Love DC staff below…

Moses: My 11-11-11 weekend starts with a celebratory something at 11:11:11 AM.  Dinner bell ring? Clown car horn? How about taking a moment to remember our Veterans on Veterans Day? It’s dentist day for me, so I’ll get my semi-annual sandwich fix (perhaps the 5th Avenue) afterwards at Booeymonger in Friendship Heights (gives me something to motivate me for dentist visits).  Saturday I am headed to Boston (yuck), but for a good cause: the Progeria Research Foundation has its fundraising gala (check out auction items or donate!).  Honorary Co-Chairs for the event are Boston Bruins players, but I am Rockin’ the Red with my Washington Capitals cufflinks to show where my heart is!

Rachel: I’m in the final planning stages for my Winter Tour that hits the road next week, so life’s a bit busy. There is, of course, always the time to celebrate a fellow We Love DC’ers birthday … which we’ll do this weekend in Brookland! (Happy Birthday, Tiff!) Other than that, my weekend starts tonight when I stop by the Gibson Guitar Showroom downtown for a guitar design brainstorming session as part of the “Gibson Listens” Program followed by a meet up with another We Love DC’er, Mr. Patrick Pho, at Iota Club & Cafe in Arlington to pick his social media brain about how make the best possible video blogs. In the meantime, I’ll continue to pray that the Nats’ starting catcher Wilson Ramos is returned safely after being kidnapped in his home country of Venezuela last night.
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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Nationals’ Wilson Ramos feared Kidnapped in Venezuela

Photo courtesy of
‘2ND’
courtesy of ‘MissChatter’

The Nationals’ catcher, Wilson Ramos, is feared to have been kidnapped while playing winter baseball in Venezuela. This evening, numerous reports, including one from his winter ball club, indicated that the Nationals’ young catcher has been abducted from his home in Valencia, Venezuela by parties unknown.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Ramos and his family, and we hope for a quick resolution.

Update, 8:20pm Spanish language newspaper El Nacional has an article on the reported kidnapping. Google Translate gives us these paragraphs:

According to respondent, 4 gunmen approached the grandeliga Washington Nationals near his home in the Santa Ines, capital of Carabobo, and took him away.

“They are still waiting for the kidnappers contact the family,” continued the insider. “At the moment the only thing they have done is to inform the police.”

Fashionable DC, Technology
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Geek2Chic Celebrates High-Tech Fashion – For a Good Cause

DC Week 2011: Geek 2 Chic

If you came to the Geek 2 Chic fashion event – where men from the world of technology are dressed up and sent down a runway – expecting amazing makeovers before your eyes, you might be disappointed. After all, many of the amateur models at this charity fundraiser were hardly pocket-protector-sporting hopeless cases when they arrived at the Chevy Chase Bloomingdale’s store on Tuesday. Instead, as hostess Angie Goff mentioned as they strutted confidently along, several of these gentlemen had been previously named to lists like The Hill’s Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill.
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Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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Hot Ticket: Girl In A Coma @ DC9

photo courtesy of Girl In A Coma

Get your mid-week dose of rock tonight with Girl In A Coma at DC9. This female trio of hotties from San Antonio, TX play dramatic, punk/rockabilly-tinged rock & roll. Vocalist Nina Diaz has a strong, captivating voice that has been compared to country icon Patsy Cline. The band formed when drummer Phanie Diaz and bassist Jenn Alva bonded in Junior High art class over a mutual love of The Smiths and Nirvana. In 2006, after seeing them perform at New York’s Knitting Factory Joan Jett signed the band to her label, Blackheart Records. The band’s name is a nod to The Smiths’ song “Girlfriend In A Coma,” and they even lived out their teen dream and toured opening for Morrissey in 2007. Girl In A Coma are currently on tour in support of their fourth album, Exits & All the Rest, released on November 1st on Blackheart Records. Check out their video for “Clumsy Sky” here.

Girl In A Coma
The Coathangers
Brothers of Brazil
8pm/$12
DC9

Capital Chefs, Food and Drink, The Features
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Capital Chefs: Fall 2011 Comings and Goings of DC Chefs

Photo courtesy of
‘Grafiatto’
courtesy of ‘Plantains & Kimchi’

A lot has been happening in the DC chef community in the last month or so. Here’s a recap on the comings and goings of local chefs across the city.

First up, after 12 years Equinox’s chef and owner Todd Gray is passing the torch on to a new chef. Karen Nicolas, Equinox’s new executive chef, recently came from Simon Pearce restaurant in Philadelphia and Soul restaurant in Chicago. Nicolas also had a stint as executive sous chef at Tom Colicchio’s Gramercy Tavern in New York City. While Gray said in a press release that he will continue to work with Nicolas on dishes at Equinox, he added that her “culinary vision will be reflected in the menu.”
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