By brownpau
I did a round of the Tidal Basin today, and it looks like moving Cherry Blossom Peak Bloom dates back a week might have been premature; still a lot more buds than blossoms. It’s already very picturesque, however, so you won’t regret going this early, but there is still lots of promise for next week.
The National Mall is a place I don’t visit nearly often enough. Today was an exception to that. A childhood friend of mine surprised me with a call Friday afternoon saying she’d be in town for the weekend and wanted to picnic on the Mall — during the KITE FESTIVAL!
Thanks to her, I got to play tourist for a day (something I haven’t done for a very long time). Here are some highlights from the Smithsonian’s Kite Festival and parading about the National Mall after the page break Continue reading
By Tom Bridge
‘Introducing Gilbert Arenas’
courtesy of ‘afagen’
The word is out this evening, and it seems that Arenas’ season suspension will be his only punishment from the Wizards. Truth About It has the word from Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld: Arenas will remain a Wizard, and the team will not seek to terminate his contract. The Wizards have four years and about $80M left on Arenas’ contract.
By Donna C.
‘Pretty in Pink [Explored]’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’
Here’s an idea to get your DC spring weekend off to a good start: cherry beer.
Joining the list of 2010 cherry culinary delights is Cherry Blossom Fest from District Chophouse, first served last night at the Slow Beer Tasting put on by Slow Food DC and on tap for the next two weeks.
This ruby-red, slightly sweet creation is a filtered wheat ale made with a puree of real cherries — 294 pounds of cherries total, more than 1 pound per gallon.
Said Head Brewer Barrett Lauer, “This beer is a great beer to start off with, or end with, and has a delicate cherry aroma that compliments chocolate very nicely. It also tastes great with a touch of Oatmeal Stout in it.”
Two good beers at once? That’s a combination worth trying. Cheers to the cherry blossoms!
By Tom Bridge
‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’
courtesy of ‘ameschen’
This weekend is the Smithsonian’s Annual Kite Festival on the Mall, giving you a good reason to head out to the Mall this weekend with a kite in hand to try your hand at soaring over the park. Whether you want a sweet box kite, or my favorite from my youth, mylar dragon kite,
By Tom Bridge
‘DC Court of Appeals and Lincoln’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’
Reports are in: Gilbert Arenas was today sentenced to 2 years probation for his felony firearms conviction. Judge Robert Morin weighed the decision carefully, relying on the sentencing recommendation from the prosecutor’s office, and the 221-page document from Arenas’ attorneys with multiple character references, and Arenas’ own apology.
Arenas will also be forced to 400 hours of public service, and donate $5,000 to a victims of violence charity (Seriously? He made that much while you were just looking at him funny. That’s an insult to Justice right there.), and spend 30 days in a halfway house.
Arenas’ future with the Wizards is in question. Currently, he is serving a season-long suspension due to the incident which involved firearms in a December locker-room altercation at the Verizon Center. The Wizards have the option to seek to terminate Arenas’ contract, due to the felony conviction, and given Arenas’ large salary, and the horrific performance of the team (lost 13 straight) it would be understandable if the team might terminate his contract. 4 years and $80M is a big pill for the team to swallow when trading Arenas might be impossible.
Were I the owner of the Wizards, I’d terminate Arenas’ 4 years and offer him a 1-year, $1M chance to prove himself worthy of further investment while the Wizards rebuild from their horrific season. You want to be in DC, Gilbert? Give up the money and job security and show us you mean business.
By Rebecca
‘Geese at Twilight’
courtesy of
In response to complaints about incessant honking, germ-ridden feathers and excrement-fouled waterways, lawns and sidewalks, Fairfax County is calling on volunteers to help control the growing Canadian geese population in the VA-MD-DC metropolitan region.
This call for volunteers centers around training for the population control process called addling, which according to a quote by Fairfax County Biologist Victoria Monroe in an NBCWashington article, “involves applying oil to [fertilized] goose eggs to prevent embryo development,” then returning the egg to the nest. Upon return, it’s particularly important to convince the mother goose that her egg(s) have not been tampered with, because otherwise she would quickly lay more eggs. Continue reading
By Jenn Larsen
“Image_1165.jpg” by VelvetJAM on Flickr
Part of our ongoing series about different ways to get fit in the District…
In our last edition of Fitness District, Samantha ventured into the world of dance with a trip to B. Fit to try the Barre Method, a system based in part off of ballet. This week, we explore another form of dance that’s recently taken off in DC as a fantastic way to stay fit and challenge your body – bellydance, also known as oriental dance or raqs al sharqi.
Most people’s experience of bellydance in DC is probably relegated to a cabaret performance at a Moroccan restaurant like Marrakesh or Casablanca, or maybe even a show at Palace of Wonders or DC Tribal’s monthly nights at venues like Asylum, but increasingly dance companies are also performing in grand productions on local stages. I got hooked both ways, by watching a performance of Bellydance Superstars in a large theater, and being privileged to have local American Tribal Style troupe Sammati Dance perform for a small party at my house. Inspired by the vibrant joy and sensuality, I wasn’t convinced I could actually get that kind of isolated control over my muscles, but I was sure going to try!
It seems like every gym is adding a bellydance class these days, but I urge you to make sure you are learning a properly constructed curriculum from an experienced dancer to avoid injury. There are many fine dance studios teaching bellydance in the DC area – Joy of Motion, Sahara Dance, and Saffron Dance (where I study) are consistently mentioned as the best. Also, with a thriving community of professional dancers here, you have the opportunity to take private lessons as well, which is a real boon if you choose to advance.
Now it may not seem like it at first, but it takes a lot of control to shake your booty. My very first class had me a sweaty red-faced mess by the end – and that was just a beginners class! As you advance – traveling combination steps, layering shimmies, undulations – it’s hardcore. But every single person I’ve asked about their experience learning bellydance has said the same thing – that it restored their confidence in their bodies and self-esteem.
I asked two professional dancers and instructors, Kostana and Asharah, to talk more about how bellydance impacted their fitness and body image.
Continue reading
By Don
‘Ayurvedic Massage’
courtesy of ‘Kerala Tourism’
Sometimes I comment that I read the DC Register so you don’t have to, but it pays off often enough that it’s totally worth it. This time the joy comes in the form of new proposed regulation from the Department of Health. Last year some enhanced regulation went in place to try to crack down on prostitution that was thinly disguised as massage. The new changes add some more fines in for that kind of thing as well as other offenses. Some of them make you think “are the criminal penalties really not enough?” but mostly I just love the way these extremes are mixed together.
For example, the following are all class 1 infractions:
Are massage parlors really useful fronts for drug labs?
‘DC9’
courtesy of ‘Chris DiGiamo’
Ever felt like going to a concert that your “kindly pun-loving English teacher would love“? While the answer to this question is, “Um….probably not,” I urge you to change that answer.
Three piece band Phil and the Osophers are a group of indie rockers who lend a great deal of thought to each word chosen while crafting their song lyrics. They can be found opening for A Sunny Day in Glasgow with Faux Slang this Sunday night at DC9 for an 8:30 p.m., 18+ show. Tickets are $10.
By brownpau
“We need a doctor,” came the yell. Some of the last words you want to hear on Metro; they indicate that somewhere on the train, someone may be suffering or dying — and of more callous concern, that WMATA’s “Sick Customer” policy goes into effect, stopping the train and triggering cascading delays down the line.
It was Wednesday evening, rush hour. I was at Rosslyn, on the Orange Line to Vienna. The operator announced over the train P.A. that he would be leaving the cab to attend to a sick customer, emergency services had been summoned, and that we would be holding at Rosslyn indefinitely. In the second car of the train, an elderly man in a suit had collapsed from what appeared to be a heart attack, and lay on the floor, unmoving, a doctor examining him while another passenger checked his cellphone for emergency contacts.
Outside, the station P.A. announced delays on both tracks of the Orange Line due to a sick customer at Rosslyn, single-tracking in progress. Then, another announcement that the train at Rosslyn was being offloaded — but no such announcement had been made on the train that I was on. Passengers looked around doubtfully. Shortly after, the operator returned to the cab and announced that, yes, “this train will be offloaded, please board the train that is now arriving upstairs.” Continue reading
She-Ha 2: When Laughter Attacks has added a second show at 10:30 PM on April 9th. As of last night, there were only 5 tickets left for the 8PM show. So if you missed the window to get your tickets, you now have another chance.
‘Teddy and Teddy’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
Dreary Friday weather gotcha down? Need something to look forward to while we transition from hella-crazy, snowy winter to pretty, sunny spring? Well I’ve got your Good Ship Lollipop right here in the form of We Love DC’s second event of the year!
Take me out to the ballgame takes on a whole new meaning this spring when We Love DC teams up with the folks at Let Teddy Win to give our readers a night conceived solely for them.
Tickets are now on sale for the event taking place Wednesday, April 21 starting at 5:30 with a behind-the-scenes stadium tour at Nationals Park, followed by “Let Teddy Win” related events, and the Nats vs. the Rockies at 7:05.
Get your tickets! This is an event you won’t want to miss.
By Ben H. Rome
‘Marion Barry and Mr. Grumpy Pants’
courtesy of ‘ricepeter’
So now the IRS is jumping back into the Marion Barry pool. (And a dirty one that is, too…) The IRS filed a lien against Hizzoner in an attempt to reclaim some of the $15,000 in unpaid taxes that Barry owes. “There is a lien in favor of the United States on all property and rights to property belonging to this taxpayer for the amount of these taxes,” states the lien.
This lien appears to be unrelated with Barry’s earlier IRS troubles, where he admitted he hadn’t paid the bulk of taxes on the $500,000 he earned between 1999 and 2004. The IRS has been taking $1,350 from Barry’s salary since late 2006 to repay that debt.
According to the lien, Barry also owes $649 for 2005; $4,907 for 2006; $8,679 for 2007; and $1,022 for 2008. Fred Cooke, Barry’s attorney, believes Hizzoner paid his 2008 taxes in full.
If you thought your rent was expensive … you were right.
The District is the sixth most expensive rental market in the country, according to a study called “Paycheck to Paycheck: Wages and the Cost of Housing in America.”
The 2009 fair market rent in town was $1,494 a month (which, for comparison’s sake, is the same as Bethesda).
San Francisco, Honolulu, and Santa Cruz round out the top three.
By shannon
“Washington DC” image from Astronaut Soichi Noguchi
Smile! Soichi Noguchi just caught you on film. He’s a Japanese astronaut on the International Space Station, and he takes photos of various places from space and posts them to his fantastic twitter feed, @Astro_Soichi. He has posted hundreds of images of the Earth, and yesterday he posted an image of DC from the Space Station. You can clearly make out buildings like the Convention Center and Nationals Park in this full size version, and because of the glint of the sun, all the water really stands out and you can see the bridges and docks too. It’s so cool to see the District from such a unique perspective– thanks, Soichi!
By Kirk
‘Madams Organ Restaurant’
courtesy of ‘KrS-NrY’
Drinking and philanthropy are two of my favorite things, and fortunately, they mix fairly well. That’s why I’m excited about the April 15 happy hour and Madams Organ benefiting local DC charity Community of Hope. Community of Hope provides medical care, affordable housing and other social services for DC’s disadvantaged. Madams Organ will donate $1 of every drink you order and 20% of food sales to Community of Hope. All you have to do is show up, eat and drink. Plus, April 15 is tax day. You’ll probably be drinking anyways.
By shannon
‘Monday Afternoon’
courtesy of ‘SWP Moblog’
It’s time Where We Live ventured into Maryland. And where better to start than Bethesda, the DC suburb that feels more like a city than many parts of DC. Bethesda is the perfect balance of city life and access to suburbs for its residents, and it has so much to offer that it’s a destination for even downtown DC residents. Read on for Bethesda’s best kept secrets and what you should check out next time you’re in the neighborhood.
History: Bethesda originally was a small settlement along a trade route that connected to Georgetown. It got its name from Bethesda Meeting House, a church built in 1820. There wasn’t much in Bethesda until the streetcar system connected the neighborhood to DC in the early 1900s. The streetcar encouraged a boom in suburban development in Bethesda, which continued throughout the twentieth century. The area got its office boom during World War II, when the NIH and National Naval Medical Center relocated here. Bethesda continued to grow, and in 1984 the Bethesda Metro station opened, which led to even more high-density development and redevelopment. Building on the office and residential concentrations located here, Bethesda has recently defined itself as a retail destination and lifestyle center with projects like Bethesda Row.
By Tom Bridge
‘It’s been awhile’
courtesy of ‘afagen’
The sticking point in Ted Leonsis’ negotiations with the Pollin family for the purchase of their stake in the Wizards and the Verizon Center has been price, for some time now. Finally, there’s been a breakthrough, according to a local newspaper, who report that the valuation has been agreed upon at $550M for the team and the Verizon Center. My guess is the Verizon Center is the lion’s share of that, at the moment, given how piss poor the Wizards are playing these days. From here, they’ll continue negotiations on other subjects including how the facility will be run, and whether or not the majority of the league owners will approve Leonsis’ full purchase.
By Tom Bridge
Carolina Misadventures #1
Originally uploaded by Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie
Congratulations to Carolina Adventures Inc, who learned the hard way today that you don’t turn your bus up Half Bank Street in Georgetown. No word on how quickly they’ll be able to get the bus unstuck, but you can bet this will snarl traffic through Georgetown for the rest of the day. Thanks a ton to Chris Rief who sent us these photos. Check out the alternate angle to see just how badly they’re screwed. Nice work, guys!
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