Yearly Archives: 2010

The Daily Feed
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Time to Charge for the Smithsonian?

Photo courtesy of
‘Sunset over the Smithsonian Castle’
courtesy of ‘specimenlife’

Making news the last few days has been the debt commission lead by Erskine Bowles and former Senator Alan Simpson, two men who see a problem and who have no problem marching the sacred cows off to the butcher at the end of their career.  This morning, PJ Orvetti from NBC Washington has unearthed one of their proposals that may prove controversial: a $7.50 admission fee for the museums.

Details aren’t too clear right now if that’s $7.50 for all of the museums, or $7.50, but you could see how a trip to DC for a family of four from the midwest could increase in cost by $120 pretty quickly.  Part of the attractiveness of the DC region as a tourist destination is that so much of it is free from charge.  The fortunes of the region are already looking in flux with the wave of deficit-averse politicians coming to legislate, do we really want to shoot a giant hole in our tourist draws?

No, the Smithsonian is our collected treasure.  It is our trophy case.  Those trophies were built with the heart and money of the American Public and to charge for them would be a travesty.

capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Alexander Semin Bottles Lightning, Caps Win 6-3

Photo courtesy of
‘IMG_0686.jpg’
courtesy of ‘bridgetds’
Alexander Semin scored a hat trick and added two assists as the Caps downed the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 last night at Verizon Center. Semin scored all three of his goals in the third period to break open a close game. It was a battle of high-scoring players as Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Semin faced off against the equally potent Tampa Bay trio of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, and league scoring leader Steven Stamkos. The super stars shone through as five of the six players tallied two or more points in the game.

Lecavalier opened the game by ringing a shot off the post behind Michal Neuvirth in the first minute of the game to set the tempo. Tampa Bay out shot and out hustled the Caps in the first period, getting many more quality scoring chances. Tampa Bay finally broke through when the fourth line capitalized on an odd-man rush. Teddy Purcell punched in a juicy rebound on a sharp angle shot by Sean Bergenheim. It was the 12th time in 16 games that the Caps have given up the first goal; the Caps have been outscored 17-7 in the first period this season. “The first period wasn’t so good,” said coach Bruce Boudreau. “We didn’t work hard enough. We have to find a way to start games better.”

On the other hand, the Caps have outscored opponents 17-2 in the second period in the past six games. Two minutes into the middle frame, Tom Poti notched his first goal of the season, picking up a rebound and lifting a backhand shot into an open net to even the score. It was Poti’s first game after missing eight games due to injury. Two minutes later, Mike Knuble put the Caps in front 2-1, reaching back from behind the net to tap in a loose puck on the edge of the crease. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Tonight: Likeness @ Honfleur


Photo by Matt Dunn

If you love photography and street art as much as I do, you’re not going to want to miss the show that opens tonight at Honfleur Gallery.  Likeness, an idea developed by local photographer Josh Yospyn of Worn Magazine, pairs work from ten photographers and ten street artists.  Each portrait from the photographers has been interpreted by their corresponding street artist, contrasting images created by a camera with work created by hand.  I love the idea of juxtaposing something as concrete as a photograph with something as fluid as a painting, and can’t wait to see what each creative duo has produced.

Continue reading →

Entertainment, Food and Drink, People, Special Events, The Features, We Love Drinks
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Thankful (for Drinks)

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘flipperman75’

Two weeks til Thanksgiving. Maybe you are staying put in DC and hosting your own dinner. Or you’re heading elsewhere and are faced with the inevitable stress of traveling. In either case, chances are you’re going to need liquid courage. Don’t panic, We Love Drinks is here to help.

Some personal disclosure – my parents are teetotalers. Explains a lot, doesn’t it? For my brother and I, no holiday visit to the parental compound is complete without a trip to the local liquor store, loading up on a whole cart of wine and spirits. He has expensive tastes. Somehow I end up paying. But it’s worth it.

Of course I’m not advocating getting bombed for Thanksgiving! Enjoy the holiday by indulging in some civilized drinks in moderation. I canvassed three local sommeliers for their recommendations of what goes best with the traditional feast, and as with the end of summer wines list culled previously, they’ve responded with some stand-out sips.

Let’s start with Elli Benchimol from Chef Geoff’s, who speaks for most of us when she says, “My Thanksgiving lasts all day, and most of the night, there are usually children running around, as well as adults, and it is an absolute necessity to have lots of wine, not only to keep you sane, but to keep you going.” Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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A DC “Cooks Source” over at Awesome DC?

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

If you spend any time on the Internet, and I suspect that because this is a blog that most of you do, you probably heard about the Cooks Source Kerfuffle last week.  What happened? Well, a publication took, word for word, an article they found on the Internet, and they published it without talking with the author.  That means that the author didn’t get paid and more importantly, didn’t give permission for their content to be published without their knowledge.  That wasn’t the big deal. The big deal was the editor’s response when asked about the situation.  The editor said something to the effect “Oh, we do this all the time. The web is public domain! Think of all the exposure you’re getting!”

It’s not.  And the response from the Internet amounted to a pitchfork-wielding, torch-carrying mob.  Why? Because really, we all work hard at this, and having our stuff taken without our knowledge isn’t called “Exposure,” it’s called “Misappropriation without Permission.”  And it’s generally something that I get a little ticked about.

Ross Karchner, who works hard at DC Tech Events to keep a good calendar of what’s happening in DC’s amazing and burgeoning tech community, found out that another site was just stripping his stuff and republishing it as part of their content at Awesome DC.  He had a few words with one of their founders on Facebook (Update: The post has been removed), and it seems that their response is to say “Think of all the exposure you’re getting!”

More frustrating is that it seems that several other articles at Awesome DC seem to be lifted from other sources with minor rewrites.  Now, the facts aren’t under copyright, and the story rarely has a lawyer to back it up, but is taking wholesale content without the author’s permission really a good idea?  We’re hoping that Awesome DC will give some credit where credit’s due.

Update: Awesome DC has removed a few of the entries that were causing some of the issues, but that also deleted the conversation between their staff and Ross, which we’ve archived with Ross’ help below the cut.

Awesome DC has yet to respond to our request for comment. Continue reading →

Adventures, Business and Money, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District, The Hill
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The Pearl Lady Arrives

Photo courtesy of
‘All dressed up’
courtesy of ‘Blinkofanaye’

Capitol Hill staffers have been keeping a very appealing, little secret from the rest of DCers and her name is “The Pearl Lady”. Apparently every year around the holidays, The Pearl Lady who owns a pearl shop in Beijing, visits DC to sell her pearls at ridiculous low prices. According to a WLDC author, The Pearl Lady usually operates out of a townhouse and the scene is a total madhouse with Congressional staffers waiting in line for hours and departing with strands and strands of beautiful, opulent pearls.

According to The Pearl Lady’s website (www.pearl-lady.com) she’s got some serious VIP clientele including Laura Bush, Madeleine Albright, Condolezza Rice, and Bill Clinton (cue pearl necklace jokes.)

The Pearl Lady opens shop today at 446 New Jersey Ave, SE from 10am to 6pm and will be opened everyday until November 16.

We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends, November 13-14

Photo courtesy of
‘fallen leaves’
courtesy of ‘ekelly80’

Max: What an insane weekend this is going to be – I’m both excited and exhausted just thinking about it.  Friday night I’ll be checking out Julie Wolfe’s opening at Hemphill Fine Arts, then jetting across town to see “Boxing Gym” at West End Cinema.  On Saturday I’ll be going across the river to the Artisphere for the Rosebud Film & Video Festival (only $10 to watch movies all day!), followed by seeing the legendary Bob Dylan play at GWU.  And on Sunday I’ll be riding in (and photographing) the second annual Tweed Ride, followed by a very long nap.

Tom: This is a weekend of parties for us!  Saturday, my friend Ian is celebrating with some quality strikes and spares at Bowl America in Falls Church.  When was the last time you went honest-to-God bowling? And I mean with the pitchers of cheap beer, and shoes that were old in the Nixon Administration?  When I moved to town, bowling leagues were the skee ball and beer pong of the day. Time to get in touch with the roots.  Sunday we’re cooking breakfast for pretty much all our friends, and that’s going to mean a trip to Eastern Market’s Canales Quality Meats on Saturday morning to stock up on breakfast sausage and bacon, as well as waffle mix from the Giant. We may also try to catch the Tweed Ride as spectators, and very probably the Redskins game, as after the bye, we haven’t possibly heard enough about Donovan McNabb’s children’s friends feel about him getting benched for a down two weeks ago.   Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Jonsi @ 9:30 Club 11/8/10 & 11/9/10

DSC_0721-1
all photos by Mike Kurman.

This week the 9:30 Club was completely transformed by the will, voice, and performance of Jonsi for two nights in a row. This tall, elf-like, painfully shy vocalist stood center-stage surrounded by a four-piece band of multi-instrumentalists whose unusual instruments filled the stage. Behind them and flanking the stage, beautifully produced video elements were projected onto screens in concert with an expertly staged light show to re-invent the club’s space in a way I have rarely seen before. The combination of the show’s next-level theatrical production values and the truly beautiful yet bizarre music made for two of the most audience enveloping, emotional performances I have seen at the 9:30 Club in 15 years.

If you are at all familiar with Jonsi’s original band Sigur Ros, you probably have an idea of how BIG he thinks when it comes to his music and extravagant live performances. Jonsi debuted his solo album earlier this year and has been performing various manifestations of this show with his incredible backing band at outdoor festivals, proper theaters, and large nightclubs. His show adapts well to whatever environment it finds itself in. I saw Jonsi perform at the Coachella Music Festival this past Spring and his performance there was so powerfully unique that I described it as “so other-worldly that I don’t even know if it took place in the same time-space continuum as the rest of the festival.” Allow me to expand on that idea when I describe the two shows at the 9:30 Club earlier this week. Jonsi’s musical alchemy somehow managed to transport the entire club and everyone in it into some sort of shamanistic pocket universe for an hour and a half each night. Both the performance and the performance space became enchanted by Jonsi and his band until they returned the club safely to its perch at 815 V St. promptly at 10:30 each night.*

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Instant DC: A show of the moment

Instant DC: A mobile Photography Movement

It’s a controversial subject: can you take great shots with your cellphone camera?  We have people on both sides of that line, wondering if the tool is capable enough that it will give you a quality image.  There are people on both sides of the debate, and there’s a lot to discuss.  How about going to check out what ten area artists have done using “tools of the moment,” like iPhone cameras, to take some great photography.  Opening night at Instant DC will run you just $5, and comes with free beer, and souvenirs.  Give it a try.

Interviews, People, The Features, We Love Arts
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Theater Spotlight: Rick Foucheux

Rick Foucheux in Theater J’s “The Odd Couple.” Photo credit: Stan Barouh

Second in a series of interviews with the many theater professionals who call DC their artistic home.

There comes a crossroads in every theater professional’s life, where you have to answer the question – should I try my luck in New York or LA? After two decades as a beloved actor of the DC scene, Rick Foucheux hit that point. So he spent last year “pounding the pavement” in NYC.

But, luckily for us, he returned to DC when the year was out. As exciting as the Big Apple was, and despite his doing well there, its energy just didn’t suit him. “New York has a charge, but it’s like a frayed electrical cord,” he joked, “DC has a more regular current.”

Foucheux got his start in DC theater when he came here in 1982 to host a TV show called “Good Morning Washington” on Channel 7 – it lasted a year. Having studied theater in college in his home state of Louisiana, he thought he’d try his hand at freelancing and made a decent living acting in industrial films. But when the “theater explosion” burst upon DC in the mid-1980’s, he took a chance and got back on the boards. Suddenly it seemed the area was filled with “strong small companies, and as they grew, I grew too.”

In speaking with Foucheux about his background and thoughts on DC theater, it’s obvious that he’s a gracious gentleman, putting you instantly at ease. Displaying equal doses of humor and humility, he’s happiest as a collaborator, enjoying his work with the current crop of playwrights and feeling privileged to be a part of the process. “I like having the opportunity to make some comment,” he says, though then quick to point out he feels his is a small contribution. During our interview, his smooth voice reminded me of a old-school radio announcer, no doubt a result both of his training for TV and his Louisiana background. It’s a welcome respite from the days of mumblecore.

He knows he is lucky too. Continue reading →

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Wizards Shutdown Rockets In Wall’s First Career Triple-Double

There was so much about last night’s game that reminded me of last Tuesday’s home opener.

A marquee match-up: this time around it was a Yao vs. Yi Chinese face-off.

A game after a notable embarrassment: a notably terrible practice that caused Coach Saunders to flip out.

An energy about John Wall that excited the crowd.

Well  I suspect every game will have that sort of anticipation.

What was also the similar to last Tuesday’s opener was the result: a win for the Wizards and another achievement for rookie John Wall. However that’s where the similarities end.

Continue reading →

Special Events, The Features
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The Nationals Get New Uniforms


Photo Courtesy of the Washington Nationals

Clean-cut and no frills – that’s what the Washington Nationals new set of uniforms for the 2011 season are. The fan-favorite curly W that is predominately displayed as an integral logo of the Nationals organization is now the cornerstone of the front office’s attempt to provide their players and fans with a sense of baseball identity.

According to Nationals Chief Operating Officier Andrew Feffer, the organization spent the entire season getting the feel for what District baseball fans would like to see if any changes to the uniforms were made. A combination of focus groups, surveys and casual conversations brought the Nats uniforms to where they are and will be for the duration of 2011 – a red, white, and blue palate of patriotism garnished with a curly W.

Some fans and critics of the team have already expressed their disdain for a lack of the team’s name being prominently displayed on the front of the home jersey but that’s the thing about uniform changes … not everyone’s always going to fall in love at first sight. Continue reading →

Special Events, The Daily Feed
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The Nationals’ New Uniforms: In Pictures

Ian Koski / Nationals Daily News

The Washington Nationals debuted their new set of uniforms for the 2011 season Wednesday night from the Stars and Stripes Club at Nationals Park with an invite only fashion show event. Six Nats were in-house as make-shift models for the evening — Ryan Zimmerman, Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard, Ian Desmond, Jordan Zimmermann, and John Lannan.

There are four new jerseys and one new cap — all of which display a red, white, and blue palate of colors. They include: a white home jersey with red and blue trim and a curly W, a red alternate home jersey with white and blue trim and a curly W, a special occasion alternate blue uniform with old glory waving from inside a curly W and a red/white trim, and the gray away jersey with Washington spelled out with a curly W to round out the set.

You can check out the Nats new game day threads after the page break. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Free ZooLights!

Photo courtesy of
‘ZooLights Preview’
courtesy of ‘macmoov’

In what they’re calling a “holiday gift to the city,” FONZ announced today that their annual ZooLights celebration will be free this year. I personally think this is a wonderful gift, as it combines three of the greatest concepts the world has ever known: free things, Christmas and adorable animals.

ZooLights will take place from 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Dec. 3 – 12, and every night from Dec. 17 – Jan. 1 (excluding Dec. 24, 25 and Jan. 1). Each week will highlight a different area of the zoo, and will feature animal demos, keeper talks and nightly visits from Panda Claws. Panda Claws will also be out and about in the city to promote ZooLights; be the first to post a photo of him to the zoo’s Facebook page, and you could win two tickets to ZooFari, the zoo’s annual culinary gala.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Zimmerman passed over for Golden Glove

Photo courtesy of
‘Ryan Zimmerman’
courtesy of ‘BrianMKA’

Ryan Zimmerman is a joy to watch at 3rd base.  He’s the sort of guy that old school radio announcers loved to call games around.  “Zimmerman at Third like a Razor’s Edge!”  “Zimmerman makes the play, leaping on that ball like a mongoose!”  He’s a phenomenal athlete, and the core of the Nationals’ young franchise.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t repeat his Golden Glove performance of 2009.

This year’s Golden Glove goes to Scott Rolen of the Reds, who had 9 fewer errors in 6 more chances at third base, as well as five more double plays than Zimmerman.  While Zim had a great year for the Nationals, and was largely the team’s MVP, it’s hard to ignore the statistics.  Sorry Zim, you’ll get it in 2011.

History, Scribblings, Special Events, The Features
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American Indians, American Presidents…And a Heritage

Photo courtesy of
‘In the land of the Sioux’
courtesy of ‘Smithsonian Institution’

Ask someone on the street about Native American history and more often than not, they’ll most likely recall the “Thanksgiving story,” the Indian Wars of the late nineteenth century, “Custer’s Last Stand,” or probably the (abysmal) movie Dances With Wolves. It’s an era of our nation’s history that I think many know little about – or choose to look the other way – and I cannot blame them for it. It’s not a pretty period of history, nor is it exactly the United States’ most proudest collection of moments.

When I saw the National Museum of the American Indian’s (NMAI) press release regarding the variety of activities in celebration of Native American Indian Heritage Month, one of the events that caught my eye was today’s lecture with NMAI Director Kevin Gover and museum historian Mark Hirsch. They were speaking regarding a book the Smithsonian released last year, American Indians, American Presidents: A History, edited by Clifford E. Trafzer. While I couldn’t attend the lecture, I had wanted to interview both Director Gover and Mr. Hirsch regarding the book and its impact but despite both NMAI and my best efforts, we couldn’t quite make things work out.

Nonetheless, I decided to forge ahead with a look at this book – even though it was released last year – for a variety of reasons. Native American history is a subject very close to me, for starters, and is an era of history I feel is mostly glossed over in classrooms. The struggle of Native Americans during this country’s formation and rise to power is something that cannot be ignored and, I believe, contains lessons for our future as a nation and as a people.

So I asked NMAI for a copy of the book, eager to see what new perspectives awaited within. And…I was left wanting. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Photo courtesy of
‘for poorer and for richer’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Tired of surveys yet? Me neither. Today’s Survey of the Day is brought to you by the American Human Development Project, which ranked DC number one out of the country’s 10 largest cities in terms of well-being. Rankings were based on education, health and income. While at first glance this seems like better news than yesterday’s declaration of our hideousness, it’s actually quite depressing.

As The Washington Post points out, the numbers showcase some glaring disparities between the haves and have-nots. For instance, white Washingtonians live an average of 12 years longer than black Washingtonians. We have some of the highest incomes in the country, but also the highest infant mortality rate. And though our job sectors attract the best-educated, DC schools claim dismal drop-out rates.

I liked it better when we were just ugly.

Adventures, Essential DC, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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Ben & Jerry’s Giving Away Ice Cream in Support of Dreamgirls

Photo courtesy of
‘ice cream sandwiches!’
courtesy of ‘urban farmgirl’

Get your buttocks out of your seat and run over to the  Ben & Jerry’s of Georgetown (3135 M St, NW) so you can test out their new handmade ice cream sandwiches, “Dreamwiches,” in honor of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts’ December production of Broadway’s Dreamgirls.

Pose for a picture with “The Dreams,” post it to any social network with information about the Duke Ellington School of the Arts’ December production of Broadway’s Dreamgirls and get free ice cream. This is one of several appearances that students from the school are making around DC during November to promote the show.