Yearly Archives: 2010

Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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Going to the Nats game tonight? Fancy that, so are we!

Teddy Makes Kids Smile

Photo by Rachel Levitin

A few of your favorite We Love DC authors will be taking the trip to Nationals Park tonight to watch as John Lannan (1-1, 5.74) and our boys face Jason Hammel (0-1, 11.42) and the Colorado Rockies.

We’ll be sitting in section 237 (pending whether or not the rain holds out on us) with some of your fellow We Love DC readers, rooting for the Nats and eagerly awaiting the President’s Race.

Feel free to swing by and say “hi!” We’d love to see ya! Game starts at 7:05, so keep those fingers crossed and say a little prayer that we get baseball instead of silly April showers.

Media, Music, Special Events, The Features
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Apollo Theater Exhibit to Open at Smithsonian

Photo courtesy of
‘Vinyl’
courtesy of ‘tiffany bridge’

When I was a kid, I listened to my parents’ music almost exclusively until I was about 12 years old. Which meant that while my friends were listening to Pet Shop Boys and Material Girl-era Madonna, I was singing along (into my hairbrush, of course) with the Supremes, the Drifters, and Chuck Berry.

While it was an excellent musical education, the local oldies station and my dad’s cassette tapes didn’t do a lot to put that music in the social context in which it belonged. I had learned about the civil rights movement in history class, and the general experience of African-Americans in the United States, but somehow had never connected the dots between the dates in my textbooks with the dates on those album covers until adulthood.

Which is why I so thoroughly enjoyed checking out the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (not yet built and currently existing as a gallery in the National Museum of American History) exhibit “Ain’t Nothin’ Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment.”   Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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A Hirshhorn Museum Facelift

Photo courtesy of
‘Hirshhorn Museum Shop’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

The Hirshhorn is set to get a bit of an update in the form of a new, ultra-contemporary bookstore.  Rumor has it that Museum Director, Richard Koshalek has called upon artist Doug Aitken to work on the preliminary design of the permanent installation.  Although the project remains in the schematic phase at this time, Aitken’s concept renderings show a kaleidoscope-type room with numerous sharp angles, creating a vision of light through the usage of the principles of refraction.

Furthermore, Aitken’s artistic eye may also be used to update the exterior of the Museum – the artist has proposed a 360 degree wrap-around video installation that would hypothetically span the entire concrete shell.

The Daily Feed
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CBS to Spotlight Anacostia River Tomorrow Morning

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the Anacostia River is getting the star treatment.  Tomorrow morning from 7-9 AM, the CBS Early Show will be highlighting grassroots efforts to clean up the river, and the Anacostia Watershed Society wants you there!  They’re trying to draw a large crowd for the Early Show taping, so if you’re interested, meet at Poplar Point (across the river from the stadium) anytime between 7 AM and 9 AM.  They’re doing multiple segments, so feel free to stop by anytime in that window.  The site is accessible via the Anacostia Metro station.

As Donna previously mentioned in our Earth Day Events Blowout, the Anacostia Watershed Society is also organizing this Saturday’s River Cleanup and Celebration at more than 30 sites in the area.  Help clean up the river in the morning, and enjoy a free picnic lunch and celebration at noon.

The Daily Feed
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Mall overrun with small children, bison

Photo courtesy of
‘two bison buddies’
courtesy of ‘Greencolander’

Buddy Bison (don’t forget the TM!), that is. He’s the National Park Trust’s “wooly toy mascot” and they’re going to put one in the hands of each and every one of the 600+ kindergarten through 7th grade schoolchildren who will be by the Washington monument from 10a to noon tomorrow. That’s a lotta tour buses, so you might want to give the area an even wider berth than you usually do during tourist season.

I am a little disappointed that the Buddy Bison (with obligatory TM) dolls weren’t exactly what I thought they might be, based on the #3 Buddy Bison hit on Google.

Adventures, Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2010

Coachella Music Festival Banner courtesy of Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.

Everyone knows that sometimes the best way to appreciate where you live is to get away for a little while. It is also true that sometimes the best way for a music critic to reboot his love of music is to attend an awesome music festival without an impending review deadline hanging over his head. This past weekend I did both when I attended the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California.

This was my third Coachella (2004, 2007*, 2010) and I think it is without a doubt the best music festival in the United States. After a three-legged, 12-hour journey by plane, I made my way into the California desert to enjoy some of the best music on the planet for three days. The weather was beautiful, the music was excellent, and I got the re-charge I was looking for. I decided to write mini-reviews of the bands I caught and to post them here for those who follow my music writing. Keep in mind, I was focused on enjoying the music this weekend without my reviewer’s hat on. So these little reviews are more personal and less detailed write-ups of the bands I saw over this great weekend.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Please Ripken, Save the Orioles

Photo courtesy of
‘0G1G3481’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

We don’t cover a lot of Orioles “news’ because…well…we have our own team now, and the Orioles have been the laughing stock of professional sports for over a decade. But as a life-long fan of the birds, and what some could call DC’s AL team, I just had to write about Cal. Our beloved Cal. The Iron Man. The nicest guy ever. The guy my friends and I grew up idolizing. Could it be? Could it be true that Cal Jr. is coming to be our savior and turn around the obnoxiously bad Baltimore Orioles? Front office, club house, I don’t care. Just give me Cal.

Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, Business and Money, History, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, The District
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America The Beautiful Quarters To Feature Local Sites

Photo courtesy of
‘two hundred two-bits’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Starting in 2010, the United States Mint will issue 56 quarter-dollar coins featuring designs depicting national parks and other national sites as part of the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program.

The first regional quarter will be for Fort McHenry National Monument representing Maryland in 2013.  Followed by Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park in 2014, Delaware’s Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in 2015 and West Virginia’s Harpers Ferry National Historic Park in 2016.  DC rounds out the pack with Frederick Douglas National Historic Site located in SE in 2017.

Each year, the public will see five new designs depicted on the tails side of America the Beautiful Quarters.  The quarters will be issued in the order in which the honored site was first established as a national site. This year the quarters will feature Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Yosemite National Park in California, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona and Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon.

The Daily Feed
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Save the Dates: Redskins 2010 Schedule Released

Photo courtesy of
‘FedEx Field after a Victory’
courtesy of ‘Tony DeFilippo’

Late yesterday, the NFL announced its 2010 schedules, so the road for the Redemption Redskins to make it back to the playoffs under new head coach Mike Shanahan is now set. The ‘skins will have several nationally featured games, including the first Sunday game of the season when they host the Cowboys on September 12; FedEx Field will be the spotlight for a primetime game against Super Bowl XLIV’s runner-up Indianapolis on Sunday, October 11th. Also, the Redskins will host Monday Night Football when new quarterback Donovan McNabb’s former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, come into town on November 15. The full schedule is below with times and broadcasting networks.

Washington Redskins 2010 Schedule

9/12 vs Dallas, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
9/19 vs Houston, 4:15 PM ET, CBS
9/26 @ St. Louis 4:05 PM ET, FOX
10/3 @ Philadelphia, 4:15 PM ET, FOX
10/10 vs Green Bay, 1:00 PM ET, FOX
10/17 vs Indianapolis, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
10/24 @ Chicago, 1:00 PM ET, FOX
10/31 @ Detroit 1:00 PM ET, FOX
11/15 (Monday) vs Eagles, 8:30 PM ET, ESPN
11/21 @ Tennessee, 1:00 PM ET, FOX
11/28 vs Minnesota, 1:00 PM ET, FOX
12/5 @ New York Giants, 1:00 PM ET, FOX
12/12 vs Tampa Bay, 1:00 PM ET, FOX
12/19 @ Dallas, 1:00 PM ET, FOX
12/26 @ Jacksonville, 1:00 PM ET, FOX
1/2 vs New York Giants, 1:00 PM ET, FOX

All Politics is Local, Business and Money, Essential DC, News, The Daily Feed, The District, We Green DC
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Zipcar Acquires The UK’s Streetcar, Car Sharing Across The Pond

Photo courtesy of
‘zip’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

Zipcar, the world’s largest car sharing service, announced it has acquired Streetcar, the UK’s fastest growing car club. The acquisition will benefit both Streetcar and “Zipsters” (Zipcar members) by offering more vehicles, a greater variety of hybrid and other green cars, and more locations, and give members access to both networks’ vehicles located in cities in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom.

Zipcar currently offers hundreds of cars in the Metro DC area that members can rent out by the hour or day.  Car sharing services, like Zipcar, are a fantastic way to get the benefits of having a car without all of the associated costs.

We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: [Title of Show]

Erin Driscoll, Sam Ludwig, James Gardiner and Jenna Sokolowski
in Signature’s production of [title of show].
Larry, as always, was excluded from the shot.

[title of show] is a musical that purports to be the actual events revolving about four people writing a musical about writing a musical.

Or something like that. Or more accurately, sometimes like that. The self-awareness of the characters that they are, at that moment, performers, comes and goes. I can only think of one moment where someone actually breaks the fourth wall but there’s many moments where the characters discuss the fact that what they’re doing will later be performed in front of said fourth wall.

If you’re already annoyed by this description you might want to skip it. [title of show] is sometimes painfully meta and if you’re irritated at just how twee it is in its description then you certainly aren’t going to enjoy it being milked for laughs for over an hour. If you’re willing to let the show wink at you fairly incessantly and prepared to overlook some imperfections in both the production and the underlying material then it can be a good time.

Continue reading →

Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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Capitol Hemp Turns Two, Celebrates The Chinatown Shop Grand Opening

Photo courtesy of
‘Luige CRM #2, Hemp Fest ’09’
courtesy of ‘dreamsjung’

In case you didn’t read your calendar today, it’s 4/20.

For those participating, here’s an option sure to bring some added adventure to the day — Capitol Hemp is celebrating the second anniversary of their store’s opening and the grand opening of the new Chintatown location.

The party starts at 9 p.m. and will take place at the Rock & Roll Hotel. For $10 you can catch some live music featuring SEE-I w/ members of Thievery Corporation, FORT KNOX FIVE with a 5 piece band, and NAPPY RIDDEM. Party lasts until 12:30 a.m.

Capitol Hemp’s new Chinatown location is located at 519 H St NW and is in the newly renovated row house next door to the Chinatown Market corner store on the NE side of H street at 6th, according to pqliving.com.

The Daily Feed
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We Love The Sweetgreen Festival!

sweetlife.jpg

I know you, you’re just workin’ away at the jobby job and thinking to yourself, “What am I going to do this weekend?”  See, your week is booked up, what with the Wednesday night ballgame, and the Thursday night skeeball tourney, and then there’s happy hour Friday, and a barbeque on Sunday, so you’re thinking, what am I up to this Saturday night?

We Love DC wants to send you to the Sweetlife Festival in Dupont Circle.  That’s right, this Saturday night, Sweetgreen, Rock the Vote, DC Farm to School Network and a bunch of awesome sponsors like Vida Fitness, Living Social, Cafe Bustelo and Honest Tea are putting on a killer show with Hot Chip and DJ Will Eastman on the 1s and 2s, U.S. Royalty and The Love Language on Saturday night.

Here’s how you win:

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Flag at Half-Staff in DC to Honor Dorothy Height

Photo courtesy of
‘Dr. Dorothy I. Height and Speaker Nancy Pelosi’
courtesy of ‘Speaker Pelosi’

Mayor Fenty proclaimed today Dr. Dorothy I. Height Day in honor of her memory.

Here is his statement, as seen on WaPo’s website:

“To honor Dr. Dorothy I. Height, I hereby declare today, April 20, 2010, “Dr. Dorothy I. Height Day” in the District of Columbia. I have also ordered that the flags of the District of Columbia shall be flown at half-staff today (Tuesday, April 20) and tomorrow (Wednesday, April 21) to honor her memory.”

Height, known for her service and action relating to civil rights, passed away today at the age of 98.

Getaways, The Features
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Getaways: Vintage Ridge Vineyard

P4100704

It’s a widely known fact that I love visiting Virginia’s wineries. And not particularly for the wine, though I do wind up with some great bottles. But mostly for the sitting outside and relaxing with friends. We make a point to escape the city pretty regularly, and I’ve got a long list of favorites. But stop the presses, re-write my list of favorites, because I’ve found a winery that takes my perfect formula (sun, country, wine) and improves upon it – something I never thought possible. How can you possibly improve upon the experience of sitting around a table in the middle of rolling hills, with a chilled glass of alcohol in your hand, you ask? Here’s how: add food. So that’s where Vintage Ridge Vinyards comes into the picture. I’ve found a winery that gives you food pairings (cheese! salami! more cheese!), with your wine. Good lawd, I’ve died and gone to winery heaven. Continue reading →

News, The Daily Feed
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Quit Administration Job, Get Robbed at Gunpoint!

Photo courtesy of
‘Kal Penn speaking at Inaugural Opening Ceremony’
courtesy of ‘JaneJGA’

I know, the headline’s terrible, and I apologize. But, it’s come out that Kal Penn was robbed at gunpoint this week, not long after he announced he was leaving his White House job in public diplomacy to return to his acting career. Seriously, though, we hope that this experience doesn’t taint Kal’s opinion of DC more than working as a low level functionary in a government office did. Sorry Kal, that sucks. I hope they catch the guy.

Farm Fresh
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Farm Fresh: Mixt Greens

Mixt Greens Salad

Here’s another feature where WeLoveDC authors Donna (greenie) and Katie (foodie) have paired up to tell you about local restaurants that take on the challenge of being green. Donna will explain the logic behind the environmentally friendly trends, and Katie will tell you if the food tastes any good. It’s a rough life, but someone has to do it, right?

Katie: When I first heard about Mixt Greens opening in DC I was already bored. We have Chop’t, we have Sweetgreen, what in the heck are we going to do with another lunch-only salad place? But someone who eats as much as I do can always use a good salad. So when I was invited to try it out, I went hesitantly, and without much expectation. And I must say, I’m a convert. Continue reading →

Downtown, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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J&G Patio Opens Today

Photo courtesy of
‘monster hibiscus’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

One of my favorite things about living in DC is the many outdoor patios to lounge about on, noshing and inbibing while being kissed by the sun. From upscale to dive, so many places have an outside spot to enjoy well into the evening.

Add to that list now the J&G Patio, located on Pennsylvania Avenue just outside the doors of the J&G Wine Bar (which is turn is below the J&G Steakhouse, all part of the W Hotel). I’ve been waiting for the patio since the hotel opened. I love how that stretch of tree-lined sidewalk opposite Pershing Park is starting to ramp up like Little Paris (ok, overkill metaphor, but I can dream, right?). With Cafe du Parc already next door it’s going to get both lively and lovely, and I’m curious to see how it will differ from the scene upstairs at POV.

The J&G Patio will serve a selection of plates from both the Wine Bar and the Steakhouse, and of course feature cocktails, wine and beer. There are 86 seats (no reservations), and starting today, it’s open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner, and weekend brunch. Yes, I said it’s open today! so enjoy the evening sun (leave work early, I won’t tell anyone).

News, The Daily Feed
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Voting Rights Bill Not Happening After All

Photo courtesy of
‘Sailor formation’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

It’s hard to tell whether it’s been the sincere backlash from District Councilmembers regarding the voting rights bill, or if it’s Congressional apathy, but Roll Call is reporting that Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said this morning there will be no House voting rights bill. It seems a shame to have this happen on the morning after DC Civil Rights leader Dorothy Height’s death, especially when she worked so hard for equal rights for all citizens.

Rep Hoyer was frustrated by the gun amendment, suggesting that the bill would have passed unencumbered, but not with the restriction on what DC could enact in terms of gun control regulations. It would, I imagine, also frustrate those armed protestors on the banks of Potomac who so long to bring their long guns and pistols into the District legally.

Any way you look at it, it’s a frustrating day.