‘happy for the flag’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
A human being can only eat so many hot dogs and hamburgers around the grill with family and friends. So here’s a helpful roundup of some food events that will get you out the door and give you something to do other than wondering if the steaks are done with Uncle Barry manning the grill.
By Tom Bridge
‘Bright and Ballsy’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’
There are few things that say summertime quite like baseball. With the long weekend coming, the Nationals (21-28) return home for a six-game homestand against the Padres (20-30) and Phillies (31-19). The road trip wasn’t as kind to the Nationals as the previous one, with the Nationals going 1-7 across three cities, and playing some pretty dismal baseball. It’s clear that the Nationals are in for some interesting times. But, there’s some good reasons to hit the ballpark this time round.
Photo by Cameron Whitman // www.cameronwhitmanphotography.com
Rene Moffatt wasn’t always a songwriter. Though, he confesses to always being a songwriter at heart. Moffatt grew up in Texas and sang in the elementary school choir while taking piano lessons. He soon switched over to sports, ultimately landing himself a gig as a collegiate soccer player for three years. But being an athlete never stopped him from playing the piano.
Moffatt spent most of his college years on the east coast, returning to his home of Texas and eventually graduating with a degree in communications and design which he has since put to good use. After six or so years of doing what he calls “non-music” work, he knows it wasn’t wasted. In fact, Moffatt can be viewed as a musician of all trades.
He is responsible not only for all the songs on his latest release “Here and Now is Home” (which is now available on iTunes), but for the posters, fliers, and branding he’s brought to his individual product.
Moffatt took a few minutes to share his musical journey with We Love DC. Here’s a recap of that conversation after the page break.
By Tom Bridge
Fedward: The Social Chair is busy with work all weekend, and after the week I’ve had it’ll be nice to put my feet up and not do much of anything. Accordingly only two days are planned, for a wedding (not mine) on Friday and an associated celebration Sunday afternoon. Other than that I might pay a restorative visit to the National Gallery of Art (look for me at the Matisse cutouts and the found alphabet in the East Building, and the Dutch Cabinet and the Rodin sculptures (sigh) in the West Building. Throw in the usual hangover brunch at the Passenger and some general photographic wandering about town and there’s my long weekend.
Dave: This weekend marks my last in DC before skipping town to move back to Boston. In honor, I’m trying to squeeze in all of my favorites with close friends. Friday night, I’ll get one more softball game with my alumni team in under the Washington Monument (against our rivals from South Bend, nonetheless). Saturday will start with some afternoon drinks on the RiRa patio for my roommate’s birthday before I join my band for one last gig that evening at Ragtime. We’re going to blow the top of that place. Sunday will end appropriately at Nationals Park, with an afternoon game to enjoy my last day in the District. Arrivederci, DC.
By fedward
All photos by the author
If you follow me on Twitter, you might be aware that this has been an eventful week. Literally. Friday the Social Chair and I hosted her birthday party, Sunday we hit our usual brunch, Monday I had a tasting, and Tuesday saw the launch party for Dan Searing’s new book, The Punch Bowl. Plus Tuesday was, as always, Tiki Tuesday at the Passenger. So I was busy.
Instead of picking just one of those, I thought this week would be a perfect opportunity for a photo feature. So here goes.
By jordana
For several weeks between March and April, members of Luther Place Memorial Church combed through their garages, recycling bins and—in some cases—the very streets of DC for junk: old newspapers and office supplies, takeout containers and bottles, even rusty appliances. Then, at weekend workshops, supplied with glue, paint and chicken wire, they got to work… building a garden.
Plastic soda bottles and bottle caps bloomed into red and yellow daisies. Painted and jeweled hubcaps formed the centers of brightly-colored sunflowers. A string of soda cans slithered menacingly near a papier-mâché nest (of dinosaur eggs). And Pastor Karen Brau’s plucky pug (modeled after her own dog at first, and then a stuffed animal when he wouldn’t sit still) explored his new backyard, trying to mark his territory against the local (and much more intimidating) alley cat.
By Don
Tracy Lynn Middendorf as Kate, Steven Culp as Deeley and Holly Twyford as Anna in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of Old Times by Harold Pinter, directed by Michael Kahn. Photo by Scott Suchman.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, what’s a video with one word worth? In this case it’s a pretty spot-on review of Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of Old Times.
That’s no criticism – art that leaves you talking about it for longer than you spent consuming it is rare indeed. I was fortunate enough to attend press night at the same time as several other friends and afterward we sat and discussed the show through a drink – and some fairly interminable service. We didn’t reach any conclusions as a group and I’m not sure that any of us managed and conclusions individually. But it’s the journey that’s the pleasure in this Pinter play, not the destination, and that happens both because of the source material and because of the work of the cast and crew.
By Tom Bridge
‘Washington Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa (18) and first baseman Adam LaRoche (25) and catcher Wilson Ramos (3)’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’
Last evening, the Nationals announced that Adam LaRoche’s shoulder injury is worse than they had previously suspected; instead of a slight tear of his labrum, it’s a far more serious tear to his labrum, and his rotator cuff is also torn. Bill Ladson, usually a source of endless optimism concerning the Nationals, tweeted that he would be surprised if LaRoche returned to the Nationals before the end of the season.
The injury to LaRoche may not be devastating the way that he has hit this season (.172/.288/.258) but the feats that he has performed at first base are going to be missed. LaRoche had been the anchor point for the Nationals’ infield this season, digging out throughs from Desmond and Espinosa, and snagging flares and liners by the dozen. LaRoche had recorded 380 putouts with 0 errors this season before winding up with a potentially season-ending injury. The picture for his potential replacements isn’t terribly pretty.
By Michael R
Carol Guzy with her Dog Trixie, who was rescued from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, photo by Will Dolive
By Michael T. Ruhl
You wouldn’t know just casually talking to Carol Guzy that she’s a world class photographer who works for the Washington Post. The humble four-time Pulitzer Prize winner sits quietly in her Arlington home, tending to her dogs, two of which she rescued from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Her living room walls stand largely devoid of her photos, and she doesn’t even display her Pulitzer Prizes. The only indicators of a photographer in that room are a few old cameras sitting on the shelves. Her passion isn’t advertised, but poke her and she bleeds. Continue reading
By Jenn Larsen
Rachel Beauregard in Swampoodle by Tom Swift, presented by The Performance Corporation and Solas Nua. Photo credit: Ciaran Bagnall
“Warning: Swampoodle may contain eye-popping feats, roller derby smackdowns, big-track machinery, brass band music and scenes of a spectacular nature.”
It’s been two days since I’ve seen Swampoodle, the joint production by Irish company The Performance Corporation and DC’s own Solas Nua, a site-specific piece at the historic Uline Arena. I think the warning above that appears on all the press materials needs to be revised as follows:
“Warning: the Uline Arena may contain extreme mold spores, dust mites galore, pitted concrete, peeling paint, and the olfactory remnants of its days as a trash transfer station.”
Joking aside, my allergies are still in an uproar after ninety minutes inside the Uline, and if you suffer from mold allergies, I really do think you should know that it will affect you. But as fellow WLDC author Brian noted earlier, the arena has an amazing history and Swampoodle aims to bring that to life with its promenade style theater experience. It succeeds occasionally with scenes of evocative beauty that take advantage of the arena’s haunting decay.
When the doors roll open and you enter the darkened arena, its majestic demise is both shocking and breathtaking, like a Grecian temple gone to seed. In its heyday the arena could seat some 9,000 people – just glimpses of the bleachers remain as concrete steps in the corners. No wonder it was also at one time called the Washington Coliseum. As your eyes get accustomed to the dark you notice the peeling paint on the immense vaulted ceiling above, as a man in the distance (Michael John Casey as a Greek chorus-style janitor) calls you forward, his voice echoing across the gloom. It’s an impressive sight that will stay with me for a long time.
But as the performance went on and actors raced back and forth shouting about “the show must go on!” and “it’s a wonderful show!” portraying a forced anxiety over the lack of a script, well, I started to turn away from them and look to the Uline itself, its massive decline more evocative than anything else. Perhaps that’s the point, a friend remarked as we walked away afterwards to the gleaming New York Avenue metro, new office buildings and a shining Harris Teeter sprouting up around the dying concrete cavern. Perhaps there’s no point at all. Continue reading
By Brian Mosley
‘The Truth is Out there…..’
courtesy of ‘LaTur’
This photo isn’t so much about how the shot was taken or the quality of the photo (which, btw, is excellent). This photo is about a part of DC history that many people don’t know much about. And that is Uline Arena (AKA: Washington Coliseum). Even though it was called a “triumph of concrete” when it was constructed in 1939, it’s a pretty forgettable, if large, industrial building next to the tracks of Union Station. Though its appearance is forgettable, its history is amazing.
The Beatles performed their first U.S. concert here on February 11th 1964. Two important, and controversial, figures of the Civil Rights Movement spoke here: Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X. Red Auerbach, of Boston Celtic legend, coached the Basketball Association of America’s Washington Capitols in the late 1940s, and the Arena was their home. It was also an important venue for the Go-Go music scene in the 80s. All this history under one roof!
Christopher Columbus Park, Photo by Rachel Levitin
According to a piece featured on CNN.com yesterday, the typical American worker gets two or three weeks off out of a whole year to take a vacation. Only 57% of U.S. workers use up all of the vacation days they’re entitled to.
It’s unfortunate but that’s how it goes. We’re bad at turning off our brains for a vacation due to fear of future layoffs and the fast-paced work environment. What we need to get better at is letting ourselves take just a couple of days to recharge our mental, physical and emotional batteries.
I, too, had to make the choice to take a vacation. Instead of a week or a few days, though, I took one day and made a weekend out of it.
Thanks to my gracious tax return, I took the hour flight from Reagan National to Boston Logan and found myself in Beantown for a quick 48-hour tour of what I quickly found to be one of America’s most walk-able cities. In just two days time, my tour guide of a friend took me on a whirlwind adventure of Boston by foot. Here are a few of my favorite stops from that trip: Continue reading
By Patrick Pho
All my friends must think I have some sort of problem. Then again as a blogger they must be used to the fact I am always glued to my netbook.
Right now I am soaking up the rays in a lounge chair poolside at a lovely beach house on Hateras Island. It’s an annual trip that 20 of my friends and I take every year. It’s a nice week with friends, sun and surf hundreads of miles away from our normal lives.
The setting of Theater J’s The Moscows of Nantucket is much like the trip I am on right now. Set in a summer beach home on the New England get-away of Nantucket, set designer Robbie Hayes captures the picturesque and the kitsch one would find if they were vacationing on the Outer Banks or Nantucket.
Benjamin (James Flanagan) and Michael (Michael Glenn) Moscow look for a temporary escape from their current troubles by joining their parents at the family summer home in Nantucket. Their stay is a double-edged sword, offering an escape from the outside world but in return they find themselves in an isolated environment with a much more disrupting force: the family. The premise reads “dysfunctional family conflict” and the show certainly doesn’t shy away from it.
By Brian Mosley
‘you kids play nice!’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
Here we are, again. I don’t know about the rest of you, but there was a small part of me hoping, against all logic, to be kicking it in heaven instead of being at work this week. I’m taking this as a sign that I’ve been chosen to teach you all how to be good people. So, do unto others as you would have them do unto you; share and share alike; be sure to tip your waiters and waitresses; and, for God’s sake, please use your turn signals! Now, go fourth and preach the word…but first, check out the sights of the weekend. Continue reading
‘Food’
courtesy of ‘MichaelTRuhl’
It’s easy to be intimidated by the prospect of cooking Indian food. Will it turn out right? Will my kitchen smell like curry for days? Am I better off ordering from a restaurant in town that actually knows what they’re doing? But take my word for it: making Indian food, really good Indian food, doesn’t have to be that hard. Save your pennies on having someone else make you chicken tikka masala; you can do this.
After the jump you’ll find Kaz Kazmi’s recipe for pakoras, a traditional Indian fried vegetable fritter. They’re flavorful and spicy and taste so good that before you know it the entire batch you made will be gone.
Continue reading
‘Owner Qaiser Kazmi’
courtesy of ‘MichaelTRuhl’
There’s a phrase that comes to mind after talking to Qaiser (Kaz) Kazmi: “go big or go home.” The father of three and entrepreneur gave up the corporate life working in IT and set his sights on creating an Indian-inspired concept back in 2005. Today, he’s working on perfecting the first Merzi restaurant in Penn Quarter/Chinatown and looking to expand across the city, and eventually across the country.
Merzi, which means “choice” in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu, came about after Kaz found himself becoming less and less connected with his career and more and more invested in his passion for food. But for someone who wasn’t classically trained as a chef, there were a few bumps in the road. “In 2002, we were having some people over, and I said to my wife: ‘If these kabobs I make are delicious, then I’m ready for a restaurant,'” said Kaz, laughing a bit. As the story goes and as we’ve all experienced before in the kitchen, Kaz’s attempt to look for a sign from God or the stove ended in what he referred to as “terrible kabobs.”
But a few years of research and taste testing later, Kaz created a concept to bring Indian food to a level that is comfortable and not intimidating for Americans.
By Ben H. Rome
‘530919_Shoshone_Indians_Ft_Washakie_Wyoming_Indian_Reservation_and_
The_National_Museum_of_the_American_Indian’
courtesy of ‘whonew’
Kicking off last night at the National Museum of the American Indian is a special exhibit about our 50th state, Hawai’i. The exhibition, “This IS Hawai’i” is a collaboration between NMAI and Transformer, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit visual arts organization. Together, they present a multisite exhibition featuring new and experimental works of art that explore what it means to be Hawaiian in the 21st century. The artwork includes sculpture, action figures, drawings, an interactive website and a fictional work titled “Post-Historic Museum of the Possible Aboriginal Hawaiian.” The work of Maika’i Tubbs will be presented at Transformer, opening day Saturday, May 21, and the work of Solomon Enos and Carl F. K. Pao will be presented at the NMAI’s Sealaska Gallery, with artist Puni Kukahiko’s outdoor sculptures presented at both sites. The exhibition is presented in tandem with the museum’s annual Hawai’i Festival, which is this weekend.
There are other events planned around this exhibit through Memorial Day weekend, including the museum’s popular Dinner and a Movie, live performances, a fellowship dance, and interactive discussions. All of the events are free at the museum.
By Dave Levy
‘IMG_2722.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’
Could Southeast Division fans be losing one of their own members to the great white north?
In 1996, during the ‘Canadian Flight Era’ of the NHL, the Winnipeg Jets were one of several teams that crossed the border to an American professional sports market. Moving to Phoenix and becoming the Coyotes, the Manitoba city has been without an NHL team now for 15 years – but financial troubles in the last few years by the Coyotes have left Winnipeg hovering the team like someone waiting for a bar stool to open up.
The Coyotes needed to find some $25m to stay operating or a new buyer (presumably the True North group of, you guessed it, Winnipeg) could swoop in, but thanks to some idiosyncrasies of the team and the hockey-only-arena they play in out in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, the town and the NHL are sinking more money into the franchise to keep them around.
If only the same lifeline could be thrown to the Caps Southeast Division rival, the Atlanta Thrashers.
By Don
‘St. Elizabeths – Fallout at Hitchcock Hall – 12-13-08’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’
Mosley: Saturday morning I’m going on a DC Preservation League walking tour of St. Elizabeths. I’ve taken the tour before, but I’m interested in seeing what’s changed with the DHS construction project. Also, I’ll hopefully be getting better pictures than the first time around. The Preservation League does some great tours, and I always recommend them to people. Other than that, my weekend is fairly free, so any suggestions in the comments would be appreciated.
Marissa: Being the savvy shopper that I am, I plan on heading to the newly opened Nordstrom Rack on Saturday and expanding my wardrobe and shoe collection a bit, while shrinking my bank account at the same time. Sunday will be filled with food for me. I’m incredibly excited to be one of the judges at Lamb Jam (sorry folks, you’ll have to use the waitlist) and then heading to DCCK’s Sound Bites at the 9:30 Club. You can still get tickets for $50 and I can’t wait to check out all the good food and music while supporting a great cause.
Brittany: I recently put together that my rarely being hung-over on weekend mornings might explain my lack of enthusiasm for going to brunch – the two seem intimately related. This weekend, I intend to test that theory. This starts on Thursday with the Thrillist and Don Julio Tequila Luxury Drop party, followed by tUnE-YarDs at Red Palace. Friday brings the super-rad vitaminwater uncapped LIVE opening night with the Fatback/Tenderloin/Que Sera triple threat. Saturday brings DC Grey Market, a Positive Force benefit show (that bit being totally xstraightxedgex, obvs), and then a trip to the beautiful House of Sweden for a rooftop party to celebrate that country’s Music Doc Film Festival, probably followed by more something, somewhere. Come Sunday, I want to be able to arrive at brunch and see what all this hungover dining has going for it.
courtesy of Arctic Monkeys.
And so with this review of Arctic Monkeys at 9:30 Club on Tuesday night, my time reviewing concerts on We Love DC has come full circle. On December 11, 2009 I posted my first feature review as WLDC’s new music writer. It was a glowing review of Arctic Monkeys’ 9:30 Club performance and their dedication to artistic development in the face of a relatively disinterested audience who just wanted to hear the hits.
The world was a different place then. 9:30 Club tickets were sold via Tickets.com instead of Ticketfly. Osama Bin Laden was still hiding in every shoe, belt buckle, and in-seam instead of resting in a watery grave. I had yet to experience and subsequently declare 2010 ‘the greatest year of live music ever’. And Arctic Monkeys had a huge savings account of mainstream goodwill that they hadn’t yet squandered with their somewhat anti-populist tour.
I don’t know if it is because the quality of 2010’s concerts irreversibly raised my standards or if it is because Arctic Monkeys are currently caving in to popular opinion instead of sticking to their artistic guns, but something about this week’s concert really disappointed me. How this band that has only received rave reviews from me in the past suddenly ended up boring the hell out of me is kind of mystifying. I guess the answer is a combination of both aforementioned reasons.
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