Monthly Archives: October 2010

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of
‘DC Streets: The Cathedral’
courtesy of ‘pnzr242’

High contrast black and white photography should be a genre onto itself. Not all pictures look good with that treatment, especially ones with people in them. The high contrast tends to add a sense of mystery and even undertones of evil.

But the best pictures amp the contrast while still retaining detail and without making the image too sinister. Flickrite pnzr242 seems to have hit the mark with this shot. His composition and treatment make this a standout photo. And, of course, it’s in a Metro station.

The Daily Feed
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Local CEOs Bring Home the Bacon

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

The Washington Post released a list of CEO earnings at 100 of the area’s largest public companies yesterday. Coming in at number one was Strayer University, whose top dog brings in a whopping $41 million per year (this includes bonuses and stock awards; Robert Silberman’s annual base salary is “only” $646,000). Last week, Strayer also ranked number 14 in Forbes’ list of America’s 100 Best Small Companies, so I guess the Arlington-based university is doing something right. Although if they stopped sending me copious amounts of junk mail, they would be doing more things right.

Rounding out the top 10 highest paid CEOs are the heads of Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Coventry Health Care, United Therapeutics, General Dynamics, Discovery, Danaher, Rosetta Stone and AES. Coming in at number 100 was Leslie Goldberg, head of Bowl America, who earns a cumulative $154,183. However, he probably deserves a raise based on his quality products: I still own — and wear — my “Happy Birthday from Bowl America” T-shirt, circa 1988. Thanks for the memories, Mr. G.

The Daily Feed
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Art Gets Political at Cartoons & Cocktails

Photo courtesy of
‘Great Political Cartoon’
courtesy of ‘coneybeare’

In DC, many of our major celebrities are the people who write and broadcast the news. But what about the people who draw it? This Thursday, you can pick up their contribution to the political sphere at Cartoons & Cocktails. The event will auction off the work of notable editorial cartoonists, many of whom have been recognized with Pulitzer Prizes. You can also have your own portrait sketched by caricaturist Rajan Sedalia, or simply knock back a few drinks as you watch cartoonists draw “real time” snapshots of the evening.

The event will be held at 6 p.m. this Thursday at the National Press Club. Tickets are $65 per person. Beneficiaries of auction sales include the Cartoonists Rights Network International and Young D.C., which sponsors an eponymous newspaper written and run by Washington teens.

The Daily Feed
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DIY Metro Tips, just in time for Rally for Sanity…

Photo courtesy of
‘After the Game’
courtesy of ‘Karon’

This is a town that loves both honest sincerity and cruelest sarcasm.  How to Use Metro is a little bit of both.  Just in time for the Sanity Rally this Saturday (and the Marine Corps Marathon Sunday), this site is both honest and deeply sarcastic in its tone regarding what acceptable Metro behavior might be.  So, those of you just coming in for the Rally for the first time and riding Metro, give it a look so that you know what not to do.  And, of course, the same advice that applied for the Tea Partiers applies to you: Pick Up Your Damn Trash.  But you’re coming for the polite rally, so I’m just going to pretend that you knew that already.

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Helmet @ SONAR 10/22/10

On Friday night, I took the MARC train to Baltimore, to meet my brother Marcus at SONAR, where we continued our brothers’ tradition of seeing Helmet in concert together every chance we get. Friday night was our sixth Helmet concert and Page Hamilton put on a casual but kick-ass show of guitar intensity that reminded us both why we’ve always held Helmet’s music in such high regard.*

Friday’s concert also featured two opening acts: Intronaut and Fight Amp. I have been digging on Intronaut’s albums for awhile now and this was my first chance to see them perform in concert. Fight Amp was an unknown element for me going into the show, but I had read some message board love for them that had me interested enough to show up early. To my surprise, Intronaut proved to be a disappointment and Fight Amp put on the more entertaining opening set.

Continue reading →

Adventures, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District
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DC Drag Queen Race Tomorrow

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

If Halloween is this weekend, then that means only one thing. The 2010 DC Drag Queen Race is this Tuesday.  The race starts at 9pm, but crowds begin to form along 17th Street around 6pm and the show/parade/pageantry starts around 7pm. Definitely an event a must-go-to DC event.

News, The Daily Feed
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Surprise: Rapper Uses Adult Language

Photo courtesy of
‘William Chang & Wale’
courtesy of ‘maxedaperture’

This one is from the “Are you kidding me?” department.  Mary Washington College The University of Mary Washington invites Wale to perform as part of Homecoming.  Wale is Wale and uses some language perhaps inappropriate for those who are below the age of ten.  The President of the University issues apologies for those offended.

Really? I mean, I do understand that Mary Washington college is down in Fredericksburg, where you’re a lot closer to Baptist country than up here, but the university is apologizing because a performing artist’s act contains profanity?  Do they apologize before showing movies on campus that contain the F-word?  Do they apologize before inviting comedians to perform on campus who perform blue?

The language puritanism that exists in this country, when swearing is a celebrated and decorated artform here, is always astonishing.  Sure, I get noise complaints, and having been near an outdoor Wale concert before, I can attest that their thumping bass was nearly enough to shake RFK apart, but you hire a performer like Wale, or a metal band, or any of the other musical acts who use profanity as embellishment, and you have to know what you’re getting.  This is just silliness. Apologize, sure, but only for the volume, not for the content.

Sports Fix
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Sports Fix: How many turnovers?

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_5748’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’

Capitals
Record: 5-3
Place: 2nd in the Southeast, 1 point back of Tampa
Last Two Weeks: 4-2

With two losses back to back to the Bruins, to listen to some Caps fans, it was time to throw in the towel. Sanity prevailed Saturday night at the Phone Booth as the Caps put together an overtime victory against Atlanta on a beautiful goal by Tomas “Flash” Fleischmann. Alexander Semin chalked up his fourth career hat trick, as well, giving Caps fans every reason to be happy.

It’s not all sunshine and lollipops in Caps-land, though, and there’s reason to be a little concerned. The Caps were shooting just 4.9% over a three game span, which is about 10% under “normal,” and their puckhandling has left a lot to be desired in the last few starts, with a lot of sloppy play. It’s early yet, and if October hockey is the worst we see, I think we’ll be in for another great season.

The Caps are on a little road jaunt this week, heading down to Carolina, Minnesota and then off West to Calgary before coming home next week to face Toronto, Boston and the hated Flyers of Philadelphia. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Georgetown students arraigned on drug lab-related charges

Photo courtesy of
‘Capturing the Multiverse’
courtesy of ‘Karon’

If you were checking Twitter over the weekend you may have heard that MPD found what appeared to be a meth lab in one of Georgetown’s freshman dorms. And then it turned out to be a lab for making dimethyltriptamine (DMT), which is a plant-originating hallucinogen used in some South American shamanic practices.

The students occupying the room, Charles Smith and John Romano, as well as a visiting guest, John Perrone, were arraigned this morning on illegal drug manufacturing charges.

Sports Fix
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Week 7 Recap – Skins vs. Bears

Photo courtesy of
‘DeAngelo Hall Intercepts Mark Sanchez’

courtesy of ‘Tony DeFilippo’

In what was a very sloppy game, the Redskins overcame some close calls and played opportunistic ball as they defeated the Bears 17-14. Both teams combined for 9 turnovers, 13 penalties, and 4 third down conversions on 23 attempts. Basically, who ever wanted it more would win this game. After trailing 14-10 in the first half, the Skins got two breaks in the 3rd quarter. First, an apparent touchdown sneak by Jay Cutler was not called by the officials and, even more surprisingly, the Bears did not challenge the call. Albert Haynesworth caused a fumble on that play but right after the Skins took possession, Donovan McNabb threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown…except it was called back due to a delay of game on the offense. As bad as McNabb looked at times, Cutler looked worse. He had 281 yards passing, but threw 4 interceptions and lost a fumble. With the victory the Skins improve to 4-3 and get their first road win on the season. Continue reading →

Adventures, Downtown, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, History, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The Great Outdoors
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Washington Walks: Haunted House Tour

Photo courtesy of
‘Spooky’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

Running every night through October 31st, Washington Walks is hosting spooktacular tours of the haunted pasts surrounding Lafayette Park.  Hear tales about the eerie navy hero Stephen Decatur, the foreboding pasts of Henry Adams and his troubled wife Clover, and relive the night of April 14, 1865 when the grim reaper stalked Abraham Lincoln. The tour ends at the most haunted home in the city, the Octagon Museum. That is…if you make it through the entire tour…MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Cue Vincent Price.

Be at the 17th Street exit of the Farragut West Metro station at 7:30pm, and for $15 you’ll get a two hour long, insiders look into the ghosts and spirits that haunt downtown DC.

The Daily Feed
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Fooooood Fiiiiight

Photo courtesy of
‘Capital Food Fight 2010 Preview’
courtesy of ‘DC Central Kitchen’

I’m sure by now you are familiar with the work of DC Central Kitchen?  You must be, right?  They’re gearing up for their big event of the year, the Capital Food Fight on November 11th at the Reagan Building.  As of this morning, there were just under 100 tickets left for the awesome gala event that will feature four great local chefs facing off in a battle royale with their honor on the line.  Of course, you get to benefit from their hard work, and you’ll find yourself amply fed by Spike Mendelson (We, the Pizza; Good Stuff Eatery), Victor Albisu (BLT Steak), Will Artley (Evening Star Café) and Scott Drewno (The Source by Wolfgang Puck) while they duke it out for judges José Andrés, Anthony Bourdain, Tom Colicchio, and Michael Mina.

Again, there are less than 100 tickets to the benefit event left on offer, and I’m betting those will go before this time next week.  Get yourself a ticket and start looking for attractive, yet loose fitting, clothing for the event.  You won’t be disappointed.

The Daily Feed
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Redskins Cheat Sheet: Week 7 @ Chicago

It’s Monday morning, so you know what that means: chatter about the Redskins’ recent win will likely be the talk of the office. To help you fake your way through it, We Love DC makes your life a little easier than actually watching four hours of football on Sundays by providing the Redskins Cheat Sheet for every game.

The funny looking stats for the 2010 Redskins are everywhere. For example, in every one of the four wins the Redskins have chalked up this year, the team has not scored more than 17 points, and at 4-3, they have actually been outscored by a total of 3 points on the season between the seven opponents. As a stat mentioned during yesterday’s Fox telecast noted, there have only been nine such games (with the victor scoring under that threshold) in this entire season. And the Redskins have half of them.

Naturally, that includes yesterday’s 17-14 win against the Bears in Chicago. But, a win’s a win, and after the jump, here’re a few points for you to bring up during the discussion of the game.

Continue reading →

Arlington, Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Cabaret

I consider myself a very lucky person.

Theatre was never in the cards for me when I signed up to produce the high school production of “Noises Off!” as an after-school activity. Now eight years later I recently completed stage managing a production of “Noises Off!“ as my first gig with a professional theatre company.

After signing up for that high school production I went on to produce over 12 shows in high school and college- then I stopped. I moved to the DC area and I walked away from theatre. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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The (Former) Senators Win the Pennant!

Photo courtesy of
‘National Anthem’
courtesy of ‘texas_mustang’

Given that I’ve made this Texas Rangers/Washington Senators something of a gimmick over the last week, there’s no reason to stop now. Congratulations to the former Washington Senators on toppling the defending champion Yankees and hoisting the franchise’s first ever American League pennant with a 6-1 victory in Game Six last night. The Rangers head to their first World Series and will face the winner of the San Francisco and Philadelphia NLCS on the road in Game 1 later next week.

The Daily Feed
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F is for Fun at Caps Street Fest Today

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_9132’
courtesy of ‘Jessica Whittle Photography’

F is for family-friendly hockey fun on F Street in front of Verizon Center this afternoon from 3-7pm. Even if you don’t have tickets for tonight’s Caps game against the Atlanta Thrashers, come on down for the Capitals’ Street Festival where you can try your hand at hockey action.

There will a variety of activities for hockey fans of all ages, including:

Slap Shot Challenge – Take a shot at the hockey goal, and a radar gun will record your top speed.
Hockey Accuracy Challenge – Shoot pucks and hit as many white light targets as you can before the buzzer sounds.
Call the Play – Experience what it’s like to be a sportscaster and record play-by-play commentary on your favorite Capitals plays.
Hockey Rink Photo Booth – Get a picture of yourself in the middle of the hockey action with this staged booth using green screen technology.
Zamboni Photo Zone – Sit in the driver’s seat of the ice resurfacing machine.

There will also be fan appearances by rookie John Wall of the Wizards; Caps owner Ted Leonsis; Marissa Coleman of the Mystics; and of course Slapshot, the Capitals’ mascot.

Capital One Bank is hosting this event. Any Capital One customer will receive complimentary food vouchers for the nearby Green Turtle restaurant.

Adventures, All Politics is Local, Business and Money, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed, We Green DC
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It’s Easy Being at the Green Festival

Photo courtesy of
‘Kermit :)’
courtesy of ‘Dan Dan The Binary Man’

Weekend plans still up in the air? Then add the Green Festival, taking place Saturday and Sunday at the Washington Convention Center, to your calendar.

This is the nation’s premier sustainability event, where individuals, businesses and community leaders come together to discuss critical issues that impact us at home and abroad.

The event features renowned authors, leaders, educators, great how-to workshops, cutting-edge films, activities for kids; organic beer and wine, vegetarian cuisine, live music and the latest and greatest in green innovation.

It’s also a great place to pick up some holiday gifts with more than 350 eco-friendly businesses selling everything from all-natural body care products  to beautiful kitchen tiles made from renewable resources.

The Daily Feed
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Science Festival closing weekend features TRON-themed exhibit

Photo courtesy of
‘Laserman performs at ElecTRONica’
courtesy of ‘Loren Javier’

The USA Science and Engineering Festival that’s been going on for most of October on the Mall is entering its final weekend. As one of the events of the closing extravaganza, Disney and the National Academy of Engineering will have a TRON-themed exhibit, featuring activities based around themes explored in TRON: Legacy, like cybersecurity, virtual reality, and glow-in-the-dark jammies. On Sunday the 24th, the motion-capture technology used to make the film will be demonstrated by VICON, the company that makes it.

Kevin Flynn’s light cycle will also be there. You know, for the kids. Who have no idea WTF TRON is, but you’ll be too busy having a nostalgia geek-out to care.