Monthly Archives: October 2010

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Henry VIII

Ian Merrill Peakes as King Henry VIII and Louis Butelli as his fool, Will Sommers, in Shakespeare’s Henry VIII (photo courtesy Folger Shakespeare Library)

When I first walked into Folger Shakespeare Library I was impressed with the authentic Elizabethan performance space. I also didn’t know what to expect from Folger’s season opening production of Henry VIII. Shakespeare falls outside my wheelhouse when it comes to plays, often we associate  the works of William Shakespeare with one of two things: fantastic, masterful prose or boring, hard-to-decipher material.

I know I’m not the only one who would have the same two assumptions about Shakespeare. Unless you are a theatre/Shakespeare buff, the idea of sitting through such a show might be a tough idea to stomach. I commend director Robert Richmond in doing everything possible to make the historical play of England’s Tudor Monarch accessible to the audience. He added two characters not in the original text in Will Sommers and Princess Mary, who add additional context into the historical piece. The widespread blocking of the show often places actors in the middle of center aisle, acting out to the audience who are only a mere inches away. The show can also thank The Other Boleyn Girl and The Tudors for bringing the story of King Henry VIII into the spotlight.

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News, The Daily Feed
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Chief Lanier appears on Kojo Nnamdi show

Photo courtesy of
‘Cathy “Bags” Lanier’
courtesy of ‘Women_in_Uniform’

MPD Chief Lanier appeared on the Kojo Nnamdi Show this afternoon to talk about police issues with Kojo and analyst Tom Sherwood.  Chief among them was the investigation surrounding the death of Ali Ahmed Muhammad near the DC9 nightclub.  The Chief gave out no new information, despite repeated proddings, but said that she did stray from charging documents and published witness statements in her remarks the morning after the shooting beating.

Chief Lanier also stated that they are still awaiting the Medical Examiner’s report in the case, but gave no timeline for the release of the information, beyond the fact that they’re still waiting for full toxicology reports.

The rest of the hour covered labor issues lightly (Chief Lanier would love to give officers a raise, but is not authorized to participate in labor issues, and with the unfair labor practices complaint filed, hands are doubly tied), as well as rehashed what we already knew about the shooting of Parrot in Adams Morgan (officers are recertified twice annually in firearms safety, including a segment on animals, investigation is still ongoing).

One issue that received attention was the bill before the city council that would release the identities of minors charged with repeated violent offenses.  Chief Lanier wasn’t as excited about the release of names, as much as she was excited that this bill would permit her department to share information with appropriate city entities the files of repeat offenders that would permit agencies to intervene “between chronic truant and violent offender.”

Life in the Capital, People, The District
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Museum of Unnatural History, Where Wacky Meets Wonderful

Museum of Unnatural History / Photo by author

Entering the new Museum of Unnatural History is like stepping into a hybrid realm of Harry Potter and the Old Curiosity Shop. An “homage to fictional scientists,” the small space is crammed with whimsical, highly entertaining “artifacts,” including Saber Tooth Dental Floss, Unicorn Burps and a plaque of the World’s Best Noses. If Darwin had explored Narnia and not the Galapagos, this is what his treasure-stuffed study might have looked like.

The Museum is the wacky retail storefront of 826DC, the local chapter of the national writing center founded by bestselling author Dave Eggers. 826DC began its life in 2008 as Capitol Letters Writing Center, and officially joined with 826 in February 2010. The new space, located on Columbia Heights Plaza, provides a permanent home for the non-profit, which aims to enhance the creative and expository writing skills of District students. Until now, the organization has operated out of coffee shops, libraries, schools, and wherever else volunteers could scrounge up space. Although the majority of 826’s writing workshops will continue to take place in classrooms, the Columbia Heights location — which officially opens tomorrow — offers a fixed spot for after-school tutoring, field trips and evening and weekend writing workshops.

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The Daily Feed
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Hoyas and Hokies Hoops Land in Preseason Top 25

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

Georgetown doesn’t begin its season for another few weeks, and even tough Virgina Tech’s football team has righted the ship from the two early season losses, both schools have other things to look forward to this year with men’s basketball just around the corner. Yesterday, the preseason coaches’ poll was released, and even though defending national champs from Duke start at number one, both regional schools made it into the first rankings. The Hoyas land at 21 and the Hokies just a few steps behind at 23 in the first vote of the season; other nearby schools Maryland and Richmond are hanging close in the “Receiving Votes” bucket.

In conference, Georgetown was selected to finish 4th in the Big East behind Pitt, Nova and Syracuse, but Austin Freeman was tabbed as the conference’s player of the year (fixed by this ACC guy when trying too hard to ignore the BigEast). Meanwhile, in ACC country Virgina Tech was tabbed to finish as runner-up to Duke in the ACC, and the Terps are pegged at 5th. To round out other local schools, George Mason is picked for second in the Colonial Athletics Association, and the GWU Colonials are picked to finish 10th in the 14-team A-10.

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Gary Numan @ Black Cat 10/20/10

Gary Numan @ Black Cat
all photos by Erin McCann.

New Wave icon and synthesizer guru Gary Numan performed at the Black Cat on Wednesday night to a packed house of devoted fans. It was a weird but enjoyable performance that felt like two very different concerts in one. For the first hour, a very ill Gary Numan lead his band through a performance of his 1979 classic album “The Pleasure Principle”. The performance was a strange one due to Numan’s illness; the band sounded fantastic however as Numan tried to make the best of not having a voice by asking the crowd to sing some of the songs for him. The situation lent some impromptu fun to the performance of Numan’s ice-cold classic. By the end of the album portion, I was beginning to visualize my forth-coming rave review. Then, as if magically revitalized, Numan and his band suddenly launched into a set of guitar-driven, psuedo-industrial tunes that saw Numan belting out vocals like a banshee.

The two hours of Wednesday night’s concert featured very different sounding music, had entirely different energy levels, and felt like they were performed by two completely different bands. I am a fan of the first band, not so much of the second.

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The Daily Feed
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WaPo endorsements puzzling

Photo courtesy of
‘WTFCU?’
courtesy of ‘tbridge’

When all I can say is, “at least they didn’t endorse Kathy Henderson,” you have to wonder about the Washington Post editorial board.  This morning’s city council endorsements contained two surprises: endorsements of Tim Day (Ward 5) and Dave Hedgepeth (Ward 3), both Republican candidates running against strong incumbents.  What’s really interesting here is that both endorsements are more about the faults of Cheh and Thomas than they are about the strengths of Day and Hedgepeth, whose credentials and policy goals are kept to single sentences, while the editorial board goes on at length about the perceived faults of the incumbent.

I think, at this point, you should expect an endorsement of Fenty from the Post any day now for the General Election.

So, is there something weird in the water over there on 15th street, or is this just the sort of weird pettiness that goes around with the seasons?

The Daily Feed
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Free Food Alert: Red Velvet Cupcakes in Reston today!

Photo courtesy of
‘Buon Appetito!’
courtesy of ‘LaTur’

Restonites, arise! The new Red Velvet Cupcakery at Reston Town Center is giving out free cupcakes today as part of their grand opening.  They start in just about an hour, so DC folks, you can still pile in your cars and head out the toll road in order to capitalize on the deliciousness!  Expect a pretty solid line, though, but it’s worth it for a tasty tasty cupcake.

Adventures, Entertainment, Essential DC, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Music, Night Life, People, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District
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Local Band Scythian Takes Over The 9:30 Club

Photo courtesy of
‘Group Shot’
courtesy of ‘DDFic’

Washington DC’s very own Celtic punk-rock band Scythian, pronounced (sith-ee-yin), which usually haunts Fado’s in Chinatown, will take their high-energy, adrenaline-peddling, interactive brand of music to the 9:30 Club on December 4th. The $15 general admission show will also feature Canadian world Celtic rock band, Enter The Haggis (I love the name and I love me some haggis).

The Washington Post says, “Scythian’s enthusiasm is contagious, and shows seem to end with everyone dancing, jumping around, or hoisting glasses.” And with the 9:30 Club’s draft list which includes Bass, Guiness, Newcastle and Smithwick’s, this sounds like a ripe ‘ol good time to me. Cheers!

Five Favorites, The Features
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Five Favorites: Complete Streets

Photo courtesy of
‘Mount Pleasant and National Baptist Church, Bike lane in foreground’
courtesy of ‘tedeytan’

Just this week, DDOT adopted a complete streets policy that encourages streets that accommodate all users– motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, and transit users.  This marks a shift from the auto-centric planning that has long dominated transportation planning throughout the country.  Even though DC is slightly late with its policy (168 jurisdictions already have complete streets policies on record), there are already so many great streets in the District that are fantastic examples of complete streets.  So here’s a list of our five favorite complete streets in the District.

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The Daily Feed
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Bizarre Taiwanese video shows Ninja Michelle Rhee, Uzi-toting Fenty

Ninja Michelle Rhee with Broom

I love bizarre videos from overseas!  But seriously, this week’s animated news-summary video from NMA News features Mayor Adrian Fenty and Chancellor Michelle Rhee in a hilarious clip that shows Michelle Rhee firing teachers and Adrian Fenty carrying a submachine gun, and then links WTU donations to the Democratic Party with President Obama.

Major tip of the hat to TBD for finding this one.

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Bruins Crush Caps Again, 4-1


‘DSC_7102~’
courtesy of ‘photopete’

Two nights after beating the Caps in Washington, the Bruins handed the Caps a second straight defeat last night in Boston, 4-1. While the Caps unleashed even more shots on Tim Thomas than Tuesday night, the Boston goalie was brilliant and the Bruins physically dominated the Caps all over the ice. It seemed that the only team that learned any lessons from Tuesday night was the Bruins as they demolished Washington’s perfect record on the penalty kill, scoring three power play goals on four chances.

Two bright spots for the Caps were the play of rookie Marcus Johansson, who was promoted to the second line and responded with his best game of the season. Semyon Varlamov made his first start of the season and showed why the Caps have a promising future with two young netminders.

The Caps once again had many quality chances in the offensive zone, especially early in the game, but Thomas played lights-out good, making 38 saves for the game. The Bruins scored a power play goal in the last minute of the first period when Patrice Bergeron found Michael Ryder open at the side of the crease, and he knocked it past Varlamov for a 1-0 lead.

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Food and Drink, The Features
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First Look: Rustico Ballston

Photo courtesy of
‘Rustico: Coming Soon’
courtesy of ‘tbridge’

The paper is still up at Rustico in Ballston when I arrive just a few minutes early for the evening’s events.  The block of Wilson Boulevard is mostly in transition and Rustico sits in the center of the restaurant cocoons, looking like it will be first to arrive.  Across the plaza is the next NRG project, the second location of Buzz Bakery, and next door to Rustico is an early-in-build-out Sweetgreen slated for the end of the year.  Our guide for the evening opens up the side door, and a few workers follow her out, showing that this is still a restaurant in the final phases of being constructed.

The entryway floor is covered in paper to protect the surface from the boots and construction dust, and some of the interior work is in progress, including a beautiful beer bottle and mirror mosaic.  A fireplace sits dormant on a night that would otherwise call for it.  Shepherded past the construction and into the bar, beer sommelier par none Greg Engert is waiting for us, and hands me a small glass of a California Imperial IPA that has notes of just about every possible hop and floral.  While Greg will continue his focus on Church Key, it’s impossible to separate the man from his first home, at Alexandria’s Rustico, and he’s been integrally involved in training the Arlington staff.  Neighborhood Restaurant Group believes strongly that passionate people make the best employees, and have continued that trend forward in the new Rustico.  Andy Carlson will be helming the bar for Rustico Ballston, which will feature 400 bottled beers, 40 taps and 3 cask-conditioned ales, making it a formidable presence in DC’s already expansive beer scene.  Last night’s dinner was certainly a festival of great beer paired with great food that left me thinking that we’re in for a real treat.

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The Daily Feed
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West End Cinema Returns Next Weekend

Photo courtesy of
‘Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats’
courtesy of ‘atomicjeep’

As Samantha mentioned in July, there will once again be a movie theatre in the West End starting next weekend.  West End Cinema will be throwing it doors open next Friday, with four films on the docket: Howl, Budrus, Gerrymandering, and Let Me In.  The new theatre will be running primary first-run independent films, serving tasty cocktails, and running a sweet concession stand.  Look for more as we get closer to next Friday’s launch!

The Daily Feed
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National Christmas Tree Lighting Dates Announced

Photo courtesy of
‘Christmas in Washington – 090’
courtesy of ‘giantminispacegoat’

In a sure sign that the holidays are almost here, the National Park Service announced the dates for the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. The tree will be lit on Dec. 9 at 5 p.m., but you’ll need some advance planning (and a lot of luck) to score tickets. The online lottery to attend the ceremony will be held from 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 5 through 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 7, and includes 3,000 ticketed seats and 10,000 standing room tickets. You can enter the lottery here.

If you lack access to a computer (highly unlikely since you’re reading this blog), you can call 877-444-6777 to enter the lottery by phone.

Essential DC, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District
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Mites On Ice Create New Goal Celebration. Ovechkin to Follow?

This past Tuesday night at the Verizon Center, the Reston Raiders (from none other than Reston, VA) took park in the “Mites on Ice” inter-squad scrimmage during a Caps game intermission. While “Mites on Ice” is regular entertainment at Caps and other NHL games, the Raiders’ goal celebration was completely new.

Apparently, in trying to psyche the kiddies up for the game, Caps staffers suggested the players do never-before-seen celebrations, like a snow angel. Then someone mentioned a game puck and the kids magically inferred that whoever was first to do an snow angel after a goal would get the puck. So every kid was hyper-focused on being the first to flop to the ice and flap their arms and legs after the goal. One kid was so aggressive he even did a face down snow angel. Fortunately, the Caps rock and each player received a puck for their celebration efforts.

Now the only question left is whether Ovechkin will pull out the snow angel after his next goal. I’d love to see that.

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends, October 23-24

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC_0674’
courtesy of ‘mediaslave’

Rebecca: Friday I’m headed to Bar Dupont to celebrate a good friend passing the VA Bar. Woot Jimmy! Ladies, he’s single. Saturday morning, after picking up some produce from the Glover Park Farmers Market, I’ll have my eyes glued to ESPN as College Game Day travels to Columbia, MO where the No. 11 Tigers will take on the No.1 Sooners at 8pm. Go Mizzou! Burn down that stupid covered wagon! Saturday evening will be devoted to the game and, depending on the outcome, will either result in shots of Firefly for everyone atBreadsoda or crying myself to sleep. Sunday I’m off to Chef Geoff’s for a bridal shower followed by my first visit to WLDC author Jenn’s favorite haunt, The Passenger. To wrap up my weekend, I’m off to NoVa to play a night footie match. Whew! This weekend is going to be a doozy.

Michael: Friday night I am going up to Baltimore to see Helmet and Intronaut at SONAR. Regardless of Helmet’s status as a “group”, Page Hamilton always brings it hard in concert. Saturday I heard a rumor that DC party legends Thunderball are performing somewhere in town. I am trying to nail down the details. Will definitely be there if it’s going down. Then Sunday I might check out Four Tet at 9:30 Club because his weird electronics will sound great there. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Former WaPo Magazine Turns to Tumblr for Editor

Photo courtesy of
‘Newsweek Logo Process by Jim Parkinson’
courtesy of ‘FontShop’

I thought it was funny when the Associated Press turned to Craigslist to find its new D.C. Bureau Chief. Well, social media knows no bounds when it comes to the job search, which is why Newsweek (under new management since being sold by the Post Co. earlier this year) has upped the game by going to another 2.0 outlet – Tumblr – to find its new editor. From the post on the always entertaining Newsweek tumblr:

Out: TINA BROWN. In: YOU?

Do *you* have what it takes to be the next editor of NEWSWEEK?

The official (unofficial) NWK Tumblr search has begun. We are not f—king with you.

Send us your resumes, pies, LOLcats, booze—and don’t forget to include a special thanks to K. Ryan Jones, the genius behind the official (unofficial) Newsweek editor search video, brought you by NWK Tumblr.

Hey. They are not f–king with you. Get on it.

The Daily Feed
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Food Truck Tracker

Photo courtesy of
‘Mustache 08’
courtesy of ‘yospyn’

I cannot tell you how badly I wanted to wake up and have this be a Friday, but sadly, it’s Thursday. Fortunately, there are a bunch of awesome food trucks and it’s really beautiful and sunny out, so grab your things and get yourself some lunch here in a bit. The walk will clear your head, and a day without lunch is like cookies without sprinkles. Get on it, DC.

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Food and Drink, The Features
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We Love Vegan: Part 3, Question and Answer Session

Photo courtesy of
‘mini peppers’
courtesy of ‘ekelly80’

So talk more about your decision to be vegan – aside from curiosity, why did you do this?
Katie: I recently read The Kind Diet and have been interested in veganism ever since. After The Kind Diet, I read Clean Food, a vegan cookbook that doesn’t make a big deal about being vegan, but focuses more on eating locally and seasonally. After those two, I was convinced I needed to try it, and thought eating this way was something easier done being held accountable by a) Ashley and b) you, our readers. I’d totally do it again, and if I wasn’t a food writer whose career depends on eating meat and dairy, I’d probably take Silverstone’s challenge of going for a month or two and seeing how it felt.
Ashley: I have always been interested in juice fasts, more specifically in the people who are willing to put themselves through that, but I knew that would never happen for me. I thought of trying veganism for a little bit as a way to see if the high of clean eating really exists, as a lot of juice fasters have explained it to me, without quitting solid food altogether.

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