Yearly Archives: 2010

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.

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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.

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.

Continue reading →