We took fifth tonight at Four Courts’ Pub Quiz, ace-ing out a round featuring roman and greek mythology and going near perfect on the olympics round. Half price burgers, wholesome delicious Guinness, tasty cider and their fantastic bread pudding were on the menu for the Beltway Buccaneers (our tribute to International Talk Like a Pirate Day), but perennial trivia nemesis Norfolk & Chance beat us out for the last prize spot. Not too shabby, though, for 20 some odd teams fighting for intellectual dominance while the Cowboys/Skins game (and ensuing telethon) played up on the screen.

Of course, it looks like the Redskins are done for, down 13-7 late in the 4th quarter with the Cowboys in possession, but hey, stranger things have happened, no? Maybe the ‘skins should take our advice for the evening: “Hey now, 5th place ain’t so bad…”

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Apparently, if you live/work near DC, America’s Arctic Refuge needs you. During your lunch break tomorrow, you could join thousands of citizens from across the country and send a message to Congress: Save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge!

Folks in the Dome might then realize its Arctic Refuge Action Day, Tuesday, and from 11 AM -1 PM on the West (Front) Lawn of the U.S. Capitol there will be speakers like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., U.S. Senators Kerry, Lieberman, and Chafee U.S. Reps. Holt, Markey, and McCollum and Native American Leaders and Drummers from Alaska and Lower-48 Tribes.

Regardless if you think they should save the caribou or drill to drop oil prices; it will be fine day to laze on the Capitol Steps. It should be warm & sunny, and a good day to get an office tan. Sees ya there!

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…you’d better be garnishing Youppi’s wages now that he’s the mascot for the Canadians. That no-good gigolo left behind his bastard-child, Screech, and poor Slapshot hasn’t gotten a cent of child support from that jerk since he fled DC when he heard Slapshot had laid an egg. Of course the local rags have said he was looking for work in the minors, but now that he’s signed a major league deal of his own, I fully expect the Feds to go after him.

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Yar, it be International Talk Like a Pirate day once again. All ye landlubbers best watch out for us pirates, as we’ll be conductin’ our commerce soundin’ as if we’d be taking up our cutlasses and givin’ out what for! All ye bilge rats that be lookin’ like ninjas best be watchin’ out as we’re out on the prowl. All ye politicians best be usin’ some advanced pirate lingo in some of that thar legislation you be writin’ up on that hill today!

O’course, in order t’celebrate this fine day, some of us Metbloggers will be over at Four Courts for some trivia startin’ around 8 o’clock and we’ll be drinkin’ the grog with the best’f’em.

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This weekend we travelled up to northeastern Pennsylvania for my husband’s family reunion. On the way we saw both beautiful scenery and depressed areas. Some towns we drove through probably haven’t seen an economic boom since the days of the robber barons, if at all.

At one point we drove through Jim Thorpe, a town that seemed to be completely frozen in time. It’s nestled in Mauch Chunk, the “Mountain of the Sleeping Bear.” Architecturally, it’s still the Golden Nineties (1890’s, that is), the sort of place you’d call quaint, and seemingly devoted to maintaining that image for tourism – little shops, statue of the town founder Asa Packer, his impressively grand mansion on the hill, a working railroad to take you through the “Switzerland of America” – all this within a very small patch of land on a river. Kayak shops and signs for the Audobon trail abound. The great and tragic Olympian Jim Thorpe is buried there.

The town’s history and fate, like so many others in the region, became bound to the rise and fall of coal mining. They filmed “The Molly Maguires” there, which we’d seen a few months back. Some of my husband’s ancestors had even been involved in that rebellion, struggling to win parity in a life of black lung.

I thought as we whizzed by in the Mini, making the locals’ heads turn, that this would be a nice place to visit for a weekend. I thought that again as we sped by on our return, exhausted from several hours of reunion-izing. But we didn’t stop, eager to return to our city, and something tells me we won’t see it again.

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When I went to bed just after midnight last night, the Nats had a 5-0 lead on the Padres and what looked like their fifth straight win all but locked up.

Oh, would that that that were so! Instead, Frank Robinson decided to change pitchers in the ninth twice, and closer Chad Cordero gave up a grand slam that Chris Needham from Capitol Punishment would call “Vomit Inducing“:

It’s late. I’m tired. I’m angry. I’m disappointed. Pick a negative or hostile emotion — it’s probably in me somewhere. I’ll have the gory details, and why I think Frank managed us out of the playoffs in the morning. For now, I’ll stew in my bile.

And sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. With two outs in the ninth, Chad Cordero tossed a pitch that would hit the gut of every Nationals fan as it sailed out of Petco Park and forced extra innings. Of course, that was the mental defeat right there, but the killing blow came on a three run home run from Ramon Hernandez off Jon Rauch in the 12th.

Today the Nats sought to keep the Padres below .500 and keep alive their scant chances at a Wild Card spot. It was not to be. They went up 1-0 in the 2nd on a sacrifice by Cristian Guzman, but that would be the only run the Nats could score. They’d give up two late runs, and the losing run ended up being on a throwing error by Joey Eischen. The Nats ended the day 77-73, in need of four wins in their final games to make the .500 line. While it’s unlikely that the Nats would finish in last place, they’re only three and a half games ahead of the Mets who are currently riding the bottom of the NL East.

The Giants and Barry Bonds are in town starting on Tuesday for one of the last series of the year. Tickets are still out there. See you at RFK!

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Wegmans’ Menu magazine is the worst kind of food/home pr0n there is. Worse than Food Network, worse even than Williams-Sonoma, this magazine caters to every dirty, middle-class, giant-kitchen, china-pattern-choosing, mistress-of-the-manor fantasy I have. Oh sure, Food Network shows me how the other half lives, and Williams-Sonoma provides the retail outlet for the accessories of my obsession, but it is Menu that makes it all seem attainable.

“Look!” my tormentor says. “Look how simple it is to throw a fabulous dinner party! Your plates will be color-coordinated with your table linens and you shall have a set appropriate for every season!” It whispers sweet nothings in my ear about slow-cooked beef stew and delicate baby vegetables served on shining, jewel-toned dinnerware and I am powerless in the face of such persuasion.

*sigh* It’s almost enough to make me forget the tiny apartment kitchen and utter lack of dining facilities for more than two people that is the lot of a single twenty-something in DC.

Damn you, Wegmans. Someday the kitchen island and cavernous dining room shall be mine. And then I will throw the fabulous dinner parties, the big family holiday gatherings, the sumptuous brunches that I’ve already planned in my most private of fantasies. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” will be a weekly institution, you’ll see.

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Starting today, Safeway grocery stores will be delivering their groceries to area homes via their Safeway.com onling ordering service. Of course, they’re going to be facing the ever-popular Peapod service from rival Giant. Safeway.com will be offering a free delivery on an order over $50 as a reward for signing up, but be aware that groceries won’t come from a central warehouse as they do with Peapod, but rather from your area Safeway. That can have its detriments, given the status of several area Safeway stores.

Check it out, and let us know what you think. I’m always looking for ways to help decrease the number of errands I have to run in any given week, and perhaps Safeway.com might be a way to do just that.

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Count on the people of DC to come up with the perfect person to head FEMA.

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You know what’s a fun way to spend a Friday evening? Well, fun if you’re a frilly girl who likes fussy, glittery things that smell nice… A product launch party at Lush in Georgetown.

You can smell the Lush store from a couple of doors down- fruity, perfumy bath stuff practically smacks you in the face before you walk through the door. It’s like a skin care deli- products are sold by weight, wrapped in paper or little plastic containers.

They throw parties pretty regularly, and when you’re one of the first to RSVP, you get a goodie bag of samples. Which sort of makes the Lush associates like drug pushers. “Just a little to try. You’ll like it, I promise.”

If nothing else, it’s the best way I’ve found to combat what the local water does to my hair…

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Train for New Orleans marathon

Originally uploaded by niallkennedy.

You might have seen ads like these on the Metro (though this one was photographed on the Muni streetcars in San Francisco), it’s not looking good that the New Orleans marathon will be happening in the Spring. However, the AIDS Marathon folks are not deterred, they have moved all their runners to the Miami Beach Marathon.

Are you training for the Marathon? Let us know, we might be looking for someone to sponsor!

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While I’d liked to have a run run weekend, I’m still in recovery from when my cries of “Your other left, fools!” went unheeded, and can’t race two back to back 5K runs.

I can do a brick (bike + run = brick) with the DC Tri Club and so it was around Haines Pint that I worked out this morning. While riding on an Ohio Drive loop, I saw a runner almost get hit. Oblivious to the world with her iPod craked up, she was running down the middle of the street. Not hearing a car’s horn, she was almost hit by a car coming up behind her. When she jumped out of the car’s way she jumped into our way. Our warning cries unheard, she almost caused us to wreck too.

All because she was auditory wonderland, with her iPod cranked to ear-damaging levels to ignore what she should be listening to, her breath, her heartbeat, and to the world around her. Not to mention the middle of the street foolishness.

Now don

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Yes Latina Breeders, here’s your chance to over-run the National Zoo yet again, this time at the National Zoo’s Fiesta Musical on Sunday.

All day you can celebrate Hispanic Heritage month at the National Zoo with the annual Fiesta! Besides the usual kid-friendly fare like storytelling, clown, and musical groups, there will be traditional Latino music like Marimba, the National Instrument of Guatemala, and Peruvian & Bolivian FolklorDances.

For al you non-breeders, be smart, don’t go. The kid-attack will be overwhelming and might even induce immaculate conception. The Zoo is only safe for us on rainy days in winter.

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So, what do you do if you’re tired of trudging Downtown to get good Indian food for your pregnant, Indian wife who doesn’t like the poseur curry near your home?

You pick up a cookbook and learn to make Indian food yourself.

And what do you do when you get so good at it that all your friends want to start paying you to cook for them too?

You start Curry Club, that’s what.

And if you love Indian food but have been wanting a good butter chicken since that time you had it at Zaika in London, you sign up for their mailing list, wait for it to show up on the weekly Curry Club delivery menu, and order it.

It’s simple: they send you a menu on Tuesday. You have until Thursday at 2 to order, and then some hot, fresh Indian food shows up at your door (in downtown DC, anyway) on Friday afternoon or evening. Magic!

I’m awaiting my first Curry Club experience. I’ll let you know how the butter chicken is.

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Sometimes you see the most beautiful moments at the most unexpected times.

I just went on an errand to the Benjamin Franklin Post Office downtown. On the left-hand side entrance there are two murals that aren’t very well-lit, rather dark and dingy, with a WPA feel to them.

Today there are two preservationist artists working on the mural of the woman. They had the area blocked off with a very bright light focused on the work, illuminating its colors clearly to me for the first time. The artists were crouched over it, painstakingly touching up areas that needed attention. Their faces were also lit, and the expressions of concentration and dedication were just as beautiful as any artwork.

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Ah, I remember when the Nationals were a solid lock atop the NL East, with a good 5 game lead on Atlanta. Sadly, we’re now eight back of the Braves, but still in the thick of a wild card here. Going into tonight’s late matchup against the Padres, the Nats are just 2.5 games out of the wild card lead.

With Philly and Florida just a half game back of Houston, the schedule comes into play here. We’re headed out to San Diego for a weekend series against the sub .500 (yet division leading, will someone please explain this to me? Does the NL West suck SO MUCH that their division leader can have a losing record? Why should a division with no teams above .500 get a spot in the playoffs anyhow?!) and then we’re back to DC for a three game set with the Hapless Giants (who will have Barry Bonds, please, Livan, throw at his head.) Atlanta’s heading for the Mets, but Philly and Florida go head to head this weekend, and then Florida heads to New York to face the Mets, and Philly heads down to Atlanta. What does this all mean? It means the wild card will likely be decided on the last game of the season and the Nats are still in the thick of it, provided they can pitch and hit like they have over the past few games.

Pretty exciting for a team that finished 28 games under .500 in 2004. Go Nats!

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We’re one step closer to the closure of Walter Reed, as President Bush endorsed the BRAC plan to close 22 military bases. This isn’t quite the end of the story, though, as Congress can still veto the plan in its entirety, but with the Congress firmly in the grasp of the Republicans, it’s unlikely that Walter Reed will be saved.

According to the BRAC Medical Report, the move will cost the government nearly One Billion Dollars, but save $145.3M a year. Under community concerns, the District argued to save the base:

The Washington, DC community argued that moving Walter Reed Army Medical Center to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD would disrupt the mission of the premier military medical facility, and have a negative effect on the economy of the District of Columbia and homeland security in the nation’s capital. Concerns were also expressed about whether there would be sufficient housing for family members visiting service members recovering from serious conditions or injuries. They claimed DoD substantially deviated from the BRAC criteria by incorrectly calculating Walter Reed’s military value, underestimating the costs for closure and realignment, and ignoring environmental cleanup costs. They suggested Walter Reed remain open, and the mission of the National Naval Medical Center be aligned with Walter Reed to ensure there are no disruptions during a time of war. They also expressed concerns about the disestablishment of the Armed Force Institute of Pathology (AFIP), which is a part of the larger Walter Reed Recommendation. The community argued that AFIP is an irreplaceable resource for disease research and education, and disestablishing elements like the tissue repository would have far-reaching implications for military and civilian medicine.

However, BRAC has decided to just rename the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Bethesda, MD.

No word what will happen to the old property. Perhaps it might make a good urban Fairlington?

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The Metropolitan Washington Council of the AFL-CIO and the Debs-Jones-Douglass Institute have teamed up with the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring to put on this year’s DC Labor Film Fest, featuring Il Posto, Domesticas, Living to Work, and tonight’s opener: Mardi Gras: Made in China.

So, if you’re down with the downtrodden, or really just wanna depress the fuck out of yourself, head on up to the AFI Silver Theatre for some movies that even Lisa Simpson couldn’t finish.

Of course, you can always stick around for the 10:10 showing of Office Space tomorrow night…

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At first I was a little confused. While multiple running races do happen on the same day, most weekends you can race in any ‘DC ‘burb, its rare to have two races in the same town on the same day. Yet this weekend, that’s what’s happening in Alexandria on Saturday.

First up at 8am is the Alexandria Inaugural 5K and 10K starting at Windsor at Arbors, 5200 Duke Street. Explore the Alexandria neighborhood and complete a local 5K or 10K for fun. Cash prizes for top winners as well as the first three winners in each age group.

If you’re quick enough, and for the 5K you really should be, you can enter the second race right afterwards, the Gulf Coast Relief 5k at 9:00am in Oronoco Bay Park. You can join Old Town neighbors in a run along the Potomac to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. 100% of the proceeds from this run will be donated to the American Red Cross disaster relief effort.

Once you’re done with these races, doing either 10k or 15k in what Accuweather says will be a beautiful day with intervals of clouds and sunshine, I say get your ass to the Blue and White for a Chicken Shack lunch. Straight to your heart & kill you super saturated fats cooking that you’ll be more than deserving right about then.

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With apologies to John for the title of this entry, we’re at five candidates for DC Mayor as of yesterday when Michael Brown officially declared himself a candidate for Mayor of the District. Of course, we still have yet to hear from DC Mayor Anthony Williams whether or not he will run. That would make an even half dozen slugging it out for the helm of this wacky city-state.

No word yet if the winner of the race will be pilloried by Mark Plotkin for not fighting hard enough for the District’s right to have representation actually mean something in Congress.

Or if any of the candidates will get Tony Blair’s endorsement like last time. Of course, anything can happen…

Perhaps Linda Cropp might like to reconsider her mayoral run now that Marion Barry might be running for her Council Chair seat?

Oh this one promises to be a wacky, wacky race.

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