photo courtesy of GiraMondo

Myself, my darling girlfriend, and our friend Katie spent almost two hours last night sampling eight sparking wines at GiraMondo’s “Wines of Summer: Champagne and Other Bubbles” event. True to his word, host Laurent Guinand provided a range of sparking wine from around the world, not a suite of cheap cava from Trader Joe’s – though after learning from his presentation just how many varietals of grape the Spanish use to make cava I think my darling girlfriend and I may have to host an all-cava tasting. From his handout: Macabeo, Parallada, Xarello, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Trepat, Monastrelle, and Grenache.

Monsieur Guinand was also very gracious when I identified myself after the event, completely refraining from asking the entirely justified “Did you feel like you got a sufficient selection, punk? Well, do ya?” We chatted briefly and he said that he, as GiraMondo, has been doing these events a little more than a year in a few local locations. In some other events he hires and manages for the entire event. In locations like last night’s Woman’s National Democratic Club the facility staff is used. The WNDC servers weren’t quite as perky as they could have been – at times he had to adjust his presentation a bit on the fly to allow time for them to get around and fill everyone’s glass with the next wine. It was handled well, however, and the post-tasting light dinner was tasty.

The events are on hold till the fall, I presume to allow for the selection of wine tours they offer. They’re not my cup of tea, though they did inspire my darling girlfriend and I to discuss planning a cooking tour of Italy at some point in my life. While I may not be the wine enthusiast she deserves, I do have some finer tastes. Perhaps GiraMondo will put together an event for beer-preferring philistines like myself, titled something like “Find the wines you can tolerate, perhaps even enjoy: An evening for the wine-adverse” or “Coping with your wine-loving spouse: Pairing wine with the beer drinker.”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

So this sign in the window of Mon Cheri Cafe in Georgetown advertises gyros, with a little pronunciation guide underneath saying ‘Yee-ros.’ But when I went in for lunch once and asked for a ‘YEE-RO,’ the guy said “Ok, one ‘JAI-ROW’ coming up!”

Help me. I am so confused.

Mon Cheri Cafe, by the way, while not much for dine-in ambience, does a lovely gyro, heaped with stuff, all for really cheap (well, cheap for Georgetown, anyway). The Greek salad is decent, too, and they’re pretty fast.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley is asking federal authorities to declare Maryland in a state of emergency drought, as 17 counties statewide are in a moderate drought and and four Southern Maryland counties are in a severe drought (check the red spots on this map, that’s of 8-12 inches shortfall of rain).

Farmers in Eastern Maryland have lost their corn crops almost entirely, as most of those counties are short between 6 and 8 inches of rain.

I know that at the Farmers’ Market the last two or three weeks, we’ve had farmers looking for us to pray for rain. The CSAs in the area have been hurting as well. So if you’re feeling charitable this week, ask whatever deity that you pray to, be it God, Allah, Vishnu, Shiva, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or Fred Thompson, to see if he can’t send us a little rain. We need it. And frankly, if the alternative is having to get Steve Martin to do a fake revival on the Mall? Please, get prayin’.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I’m not sure where I came across this artist’s work, offiically, but the DC Department of Transportation (as well as other surrounding communities) could learn a thing or two about the project started in 2005 by UCSD art student, Shannon Spanhake… planting pothole gardens.

Why fill the negative space with soul sucking and uninteresting asphalt or concrete, when you can beautify the streets and provide miniature dog parks in the middle of the avenue?! It’s not a surreal as a Dali painting (I still dig the “stache”), or abstract as a Seurat scene, but it’s still a neat idea. I’ve seen impromptu road gardens when landscaping material falls off the back of a truck on the beltway, but it never lands with a nice arrangement of flowers and other foliage to accompany it.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Now, I always was thinking, what if the Germans turned their expertise in building the perfect automobile towards other domestic tools of the trade… it seems that they also need a little “pick me up” in the morning, too.. Rube Goldberg style.

I think this site remains in it’s original German due to a conspiracy by Starbucks baristas everywhere fearing for their job security. All I can think about is the opening of “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” with Danny Elfman’s “Breakfast Machine” music put to a visual of this robotic monster brewing up a fresh cup of vanilla french roast for consuption /a>by my over-caffeinated office mates.

Photo by DC Metroblogger

This image of the departure screen at Atlanta’s airport perfectly describes the DCA to ATL experience: unused icons on the desktop.

The first unused icon would be one for customer service. Delta gate agents here treat flyers like pests, quite unlike the Delta Shuttle employees.

Food would be the next unused icon because after 10pm, none is available. Nor is beer after 10.30 and when your 10.45 flight is delayed to 1.30am, you do need a beer. How late can you drink at IAD?

The last unused icon says “reality” as I just heard an announcement that the Homeland Security Theatre threat level is orange. When did the color codes have any correlation to danger? They correlate to election cycles, inversely to Presidential approval ratings.

And in case you did not get it yet, my approval rating of ATL is Zero. I miss my beloved DCA.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of GiraMondo

The day has arrived – an evening out for myself and my darling girlfriend where we’ll sip a half-dozen varieties of champagne and learn more about the bubbly than we ever thought we’d know. Tickets are still available on their website for fellow fans of sparkling wine (*ahem* Jenn) if you want to come join us at the Woman’s National Democratic Club tonight from 7pm to 9pm.

Whittemore House (WNDC) – Dupont Circle
Woman’s National Democratic Club
1526 New Hampshire Av. NW
Washington, DC 20036

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of Eddie Lounge

My Fringe outing last night was stag – I couldn’t convince my darling girlfriend that three shows in thirty hours was a good plan. But how could I, a stout Richard Cheese fan, miss The Eddie Lounge Show?

The show’s a good, simple time, a dozen or so song performances loosely bound together by a a lightweight love triangle. The shape of a martini glass viewed from the side – surely no coincidence. The singers range from okay – Rocco – to good – Eddie – to pretty amazing – Brandy Alexander. It’s perfectly appropriate for Brandy to outshine Eddie and Rocco – she’s performing below her station both artistically and as a beauty who could do way better than Eddie and Rocco combined.

There’s a little audience participation in the show, beyond the audience playing the part of the lounge act’s, well, audience. Rocco’s interaction with the crowd is particularly funny, as well as his tendency to offer advice ranging from simple to pure lunacy by prefacing it with “You know, in my experience…” All in all an enjoyable hour of entertainment worth you $15.

Remaining shows are 8pm every night from tonight, Wednesday, July 25, through Saturday, July 28th. Two additional shows are scheduled for Friday, July 27 and Saturday, July 28 at 10:00pm. Don’t be fooled by the Arena Stage name – this is their ‘black box’ theater on 14th St NW, just a block up from Source and a few from Studio, not the main Arena Stage location in SW.

Arena Stage – Black Box Theater
14th St. NW & T St. NW
Washington DC, DC 20009

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Everyone and their grandma is always giving Microsoft a hard time about their security (or lack thereof). Why? Because their software is used across the globe more than any other software, making it a prime target for hackers. I mean why would you try to hack Linux when only a handful of people are using it? Might as well get more bang for your buck by writing a virus that targets Windows users right?

Lookout Apple. Your success might just give you a taste of Microsoft’s medicine.

It was recently discovered that the beloved iPhone (the overpriced piece of plastic that makes you feel cool when others gawk at it) isn’t quite as secure as people thought. What? An Apple product isn’t secure? Nonsense! Steve Jobs would never allow that!

Believe it sister. It appears that someone can hack in via wi-fi, e-mail/text message, or malicious web pages allowing full access to your pretty little phone. Watch those nude photos of your girlfriend get swiped and uploaded to the web. Whoops! Sorry honey!

The way I see it, if you’re one of those in DC who owns an iPhone, you have three options:

1) Don’t keep any sensitive material on your iProduct.
2) Be careful of the websites you’re browsing as well as the wireless access points you’re connecting to. Use your best judgement on this one as to what “secure” and “safe” mean.
3) Do this.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Metro’s unveiled new online maps for their stations, which include local business listings, all powered by Google Maps (It’s the best. True that, Double True.) Now you can see restaurants, banks, grocery stores, hotels, and museums near any metro station in the system, which can be mighty handy for printing out before you head to a part of town you’ve never been to before. Nicely done, WMATA.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Creepy-ass Flying Monkey

For three Fridays in August, the City of Falls Church will host their 4th Annual Sunset Cinema, a free movie shown at Cherry Hill Park, located at 312 Park Avenue. This year’s series is entitled “Cutesy Shit and Flying Monkeys.” Well, maybe not, but that’s what I would call it.

Here is the lineup:
Friday, Aug. 10, 8:30 p.m. – “Happy Feet”
Friday, Aug. 17, 8:30 p.m. – “The Wizard of Oz”
Friday, Aug. 24, 8:30 p.m. – “Charlotte’s Web”

In case of inclement weather, the movies will be shown in the Falls Church Community Center at 223 Little Falls Street.

Just be sure to cover your eyes during the scenes with flying monkeys. Those things scared the mess out of me when I was a tyke!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Anybody here into ancient Japanese theatre arts and music?… C’mon, raise your hand, I see you.

So Heisei Nakamura-Za Kabuki is in DC this Thursday at the Warner Theatre downtown (as if it was anywhere else). I’ve kind of been enchanted with, at least, the music that could be heard, since it’s not ethnically from my “eastern heritage”, namely Russian and German. I’m pretty much am looking for a visual expansion of what is the only traditional Japanese music I have in my collection (and now, dull my ignorance of the genre.. thank you Blade Runner).

Good tickets are still available, although a little pricey, but the cool factor outweighs price at this point. The performance website describes the event thusly:

“The Japan-America Society of Washington DC proudly presents two performances of Japan’s most famous theatre—-Kabuki. Join us on Thursday, July 26 as one of Japan’s greatest actors, Kanzaburo Nakamura XVIII and over 80 members of the Heisei Nakamura-za Kabuki troupe of Tokyo come to the Warner Theatre. On the playbill are Kanjincho, one of Kabuki’s most famous dramatic works, and Migawari Zazen, a more light-hearted play with a universal theme.”

“All balcony seats for this performance will have an obstructed view of the hanamichi”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Wayan’s Washington DC Photos

Do you like some Trader Joe’s tasty treats? Do you live in the District? Then do you wait in this long-ass line for your love?

I was shocked, no appalled, that any sane human, much less time-starved Washingtonians would stand for the three curves deep, twenty minute long line at Trader Joe’s in Georgetown.

Yes, I know I too waited in said line, but only because I was late for picnic date. Other times, I have better uses for daylight than burning it for Three Buck Chuck.

Don’t you?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

At right, the scene at Metro Center, Red Line to Shady Grove, Monday night. On the PID screens, train arrival times were blank, alternating with the message:

RESIDUAL DELAYS, RED LINE Minor delays on Red Line to Shady Grove due to an earlier train malfunction which has now been resloved.

That crowd didn’t look too resloved, or too happy, but the typo was worth a chuckle. Seen any other good Metro PID typos lately?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Now, this is one of the times where I wished I had my camera out upon first viewing, but on my return trip (I had forgotten my building pass and wallet at home) the flash mob of painters vans, gardening and landscape trucks, and contractors pick-ups were long gone. However, the sight was one to make all the folks who get their panties in a bind over immigrant workers have a heart attack (even without the Cheez Whiz-like sauce and chili).

So what was one to behold for the small Kwik-E-Mart flash mob of, Mike Rowe’s words, “people who do the jobs that keeps civil society running“, no less than 25 vehicles in spots made for less than 10. If this same parking nightmare was to appear at say, Tysons Corner or Landmark Mall, all the business suited suburbanites and soccer moms would have toiled for hours trying to untangle who would exit first. But in this case, even those who were parked illegally on the street blocking traffic on University Boulevard in Kensington, exited in a orderly fashion in under a few minutes.

Now if only everybody was that efficient in getting their breakfast/lunch, I’d have 55 more minutes left for my lunch hour!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Coming from an extensive IT background, and now, in the position of supporting a company’s 365/24/7 environment, I see now “what not to do”. Now, many of you may be jonesing to order Netflix (supposedly down due to a software upgrade) or trying to blog your way to heaven (LiveJournal or TypePad), buy or trade crap you don’t want or buy stuff you do (CraigsList), or maybe just buy one of those servers that’s not supposed to go down (Sun Microsystems). Now we can’t even find out what news is cool either, since Technocrati is also serviced by 365 Main in San Fran.

Now stories aside, the data center folks say it was due to a drunk employee within a facility, but it seems all of San Francisco is having a major power event, so stay chill folks, and maybe step into the analog world for a few hours and talk to people person to person… or at least, use you BlackBerry, they have their stuff in Canada, eh?!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Jonny Goldstein from
a recent shoot I did with him

Local video deity Jonny Goldstein is doing something really cool on his blog. Jonny is the type of guy who isn’t satisfied with things working okay the way they are and is always pushing the envelope to see what’s next.

His latest thing is doing live webcasts of a talk show he has been producing on and off for at least a year. Jonny and I worked together briefly for a company doing this, but it quickly became apparent that the money and technology had not yet converged to make the enterprise successful enough to sustain our employment.

Me, I went on to developing other things. Jonny continued to pursue the live webcast route and has been testing a number of different platforms. Now he has a pretty regular talk show going, streaming live from East Hyattsville.

This Wednesday you can catch Jonny interviewing Beth Kanter, who will be joining the show from Lowell, MA. In addition, if the gods allow a reliable connection, Jay Dedman and Ryanne Hodson will be on the show live from Thailand, where they are working to help an NGO do some video production to prevent human trafficking.

I think this will be quite an interesting show. Please come check it out if you have time.

When: Wednesday, 9:00 p.m.
Where: www.jonnygoldstein.com
What you need: Viewers just need a computer connected to broadband.
Interaction: During the show, you can participate in the group text chat, and if you have a webcam, he may be able to put you on air.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Twenty days ago, over 140 photographers gathered in Downtown Silver Spring, motivated to declare photographic freedom, the visualization of their First Amendment rights on Ellsworth Drive.

This public street, leased to PFA Silver Spring LC and the Peterson Companies for $1 per year, and according to those very same developers, restricted to approved actions and activities, was off-limits to casual photographers like Chip Py.

On July 4th, 2007, it became free for all to digitize, even Flickr-ize when the developers changed their policy to reduce photographic restrictions. On July 5th, real change, not a policy statement, came to the Ellsworth Drive debate. First the Press got involved and then, just last week, the bomb dropped.

Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett wrote to PFA Silver Spring and Peterson Companies to express his opinion on the matter. An opinion that perfectly mirrors the Free Our Streets goal:

“The county considers Ellsworth [Drive] to be a public forum permitting the free and unfettered exercise of First Amendment rights by residents of the county and its visitors to the same extent as those rights are exercisable by residents and visitors to the county on any public sidewalk or public street within the county,”

No word yet on PFA Silver Spring’s reaction, but both Chip Py and I bet there’s freedom of speech at Peterson Companies headquarters this week!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

If you aren’t reading the new Harry Potter book, you might want to question whether you are Metro Chic. This morning as I was riding to work, I couldn’t even count the number of people who had likely lifted the book from the kids for the morning commute.

The train was almost completely devoid of human chatter as people flipped pages with rapt attention, and had little time or energy for small talk and other social behaviors.

One fellow, an awkward lad, got on the red line heading toward Shady Grove. He walked down the aisle of the car and craned his neck to see what everyone was reading. I was glad that he decided to sit somewhere before reaching where I was standing because, deep into my own morning commute reading, I wanted to be left alone as well. I felt bad for the young woman with whom he sat, though, because she looked as if she were forced into polite conversation rather than remaining absorbed in her book.

So who’s reading the new Harry Potter book? And if not, what are you reading during your commute?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of Megadem

While some of us were fringe-a-paloozing others were dressing up as their favorite animated character and prowling the inner harbor. Another July, another Otakon in Baltimore. If you’ve never heard of it that’s not too surprising – not being a Japanese animation fan myself the only reason I know of it is through Megatokyo and our occasional commenter, Evilmoo.

Just because it’s not your bag, however, doesn’t mean looking at the pictures isn’t fascinating. Flickr is filled with them – just check out the items tagged with otakon or otakon2007 in particular. The amount of effort and skill that goes into some of these costumes is just amazing. Others are just, uh, enjoyable to look at.

Lastly… Ru Paul? You got nothing on Queen Amadala. You might consider a wax next time, though, dude.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs