Yearly Archives: 2010

The Daily Feed
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Yunesky Maya Makes His Debut

Yunesky Maya / Photo by Cheryl Nichols / Nationals News Network

The Mets must hate Willie Harris. Well, maybe not hate. They just didn’t like him for all of one minute in the sixth inning on Tuesday night when he broke up Dillon Gee’s no-hitter with a lead-off solo shot to the centerfield bleachers.

What was supposed to be a duel between two young pitchers debuting on the same night turned out to be a one-sided show.  Gee, 24, wasn’t a head-turner per se, but the Mets lineup made him look way better than the Nats’ Yunesky Maya for the first two innings.

One day after a 13-3 offensive pounding of New York must have left the Nationals tired. Poor Maya. The sleepy bats in this 4-1 loss couldn’t wake from their sweet slumber. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Checking Times on Meters, Crystal City Edition


Photo printed with permission from Ryan C.

Those fancy new meters popping up around Arlington over the past year have definitely been easier on the coin collection stashed away in Virginian cupholders, but nobody ever said that those machines needed to understand how the 12-hour clock cycle. Hawk tipster Ryan C. picked up on one small issue with the meters that have been installed down in the southern parts of Arlington: Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Get your science on

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

So hey, did you know there’s going to be a big old science fair in DC next month? No? Neither did I until I caught sight of the USA Science and Engineering Festival Twitter feed last week, and it took about 10 seconds to hook me on the whole idea. It’s two weeks of science, SCIENCE, SCIENCE!, from Oct. 10-24, capped off with a weekend of events on the National Mall on Oct. 23-24. And here’s where you come in, dear readers: they need volunteers.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Neighborhood Festivals!

Photo courtesy of
‘Adams Morgan Day’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

Neighborhood festivals are one of my favorite things in DC, so I’m pretty happy that the next couple weekends are full of ’em.  Check out the lineup:

  • This Sunday from noon to 7 PM is the Adams Morgan Day Festival, a huge gathering with great ethnic food, good bands, a Dance Plaza, a Pet Zone, and even a Green Pavilion. Come hungry, because there is so much great food to try!
  • Next weekend on Saturday, September 18 from noon to 6 PM, get ready for the H Street Festival, which features a fashion show, outdoor karaoke, and the can’t-miss art car show.  This is a huge festival– over 15,000 people attended last year– so be prepared for crowds.
  • The weekend after that, if you’re still craving a neighborhood festival, head over to the Dupont area for the 17th Street Festival on Saturday, September 25 from noon to 6 PM.  This newcomer to the neighborhood festival scene will feature an auction tent (with great items like theater tickets and dog walking services up for grabs), musical performances, and a kids zone.

Still want more neighborhood festivals?  Head over to TBD’s roundup of all the area fairs and festivals coming up this fall.

We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Surfer Blood

As a way to say thanks to our loyal readers, We Love DC will be giving away a pair of tickets to a 9:30 Club concert to one lucky reader each week. Check back here every Wednesday morning at 9am to find out what tickets we’re giving away and leave a comment for your chance to be the lucky winner!

The ticket giveaways continue with the very now sounds of Surfer Blood at the 9:30 Club on Sunday September 12th.

What a difference a year makes. One year ago Surfer Blood were just another anonymous Myspace band from Florida. Like many bands before them they made the big gamble, packed their gear, and took the trek north to try their luck at the CMJ Music Showcase. At last year’s showcase, the mostly unknown, Surfer Blood played a whirlwind of 12 concerts and left the fest wearing a championship belt of buzz. They followed their CMJ win with a tour that hit DC9 late last year (or early this year?) and have since released their debut album “Astro Coast”. Now as their indie-notice year winds to a close, Surfer Blood are returning to CMJ in October as the festival’s headliner. They are a textbook indie success story and are poised to break-out huge if they can keep the music tight and the band drama to a minimum. Before Surfer Blood hit CMJ next month, this band of Florida rockers are making a victory lap of shows; one of which is the show this Sunday at 9:30 Club. If their success continues to compound as it has in their debut year, this show will be the last chance anyone has to catch Surfer Blood in a club for a long time.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9am and 4pm today. One entry per email address, please. Tickets for this show are also available through Ticketfly If today doesn’t turn out to be your lucky day, check back here each Wednesday for a chance to win tickets to other great concerts.

For the rules of this giveaway…
Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Citywide Water Balloon Fight on Sunday!

Photo courtesy of
‘Trouble’
courtesy of ‘dougww’

It’s hard to outdo the Great Dupont Snowball Fight of 2010, but let’s give it a shot.  This Sunday at 2 PM, Dupont Circle will be the site of a Citywide Water Balloon War. It’s the first event of its kind in the District, so grab some balloons (they’ll have some, but you’ll want to bring your own for maximum soakage) and head over to the circle for the snowball fight’s warmer, sunnier brother.  And a word to those families planning a leisurely Sunday afternoon in Dupont Circle?  Prepare to get wet.

The Daily Feed
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Egg Drop

Photo courtesy of
‘205/365’
courtesy of ‘BrianMKA’

I still remember being in the 5th grade when we had our class egg drop competition.  I spent days working on coming up with the most genius way to protect my baby, and ended up developing a ‘chic basket’ with a parachute.  Unfortunately, my egg didn’t make it in the final round and I lost to my arch-enemy. Oh, the Middle School woes.  But now, with The National Building Museum’s Egg Drop Family Workshop 2 I finally will have the opportunity for redemption. 

This program is part of AIA/DC’s Architecture Week and registration is required.

Adventures, Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: All Tomorrow’s Parties NY 2010 (Day One)

IMG_2593
all photos by author.

Coverage of Day Two
Coverage of Day Three

Once a year the music geek Illuminati meet in their secret headquarters tucked deep in the Catskill Mountains of New York to revel in an orgy of booze, obscure band t-shirts, and unbelievable live music performances by the best-of-the-best in underground music past and present. They call their yearly gathering All Tomorrow’s Parties New York (ATP NY); this weekend the Catskills played host to the third such meeting of the music-minded with a phenomenal three day festival that is really unlike any other. Only at ATP NY could I be dancing at 2AM on a Sunday in a microscopic hotel lounge to the live DJ skills of Kool Herc (the undisputed father of Hip-Hop), spot Jim Jarmusch and GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan across the room, and get high-fived by a group of complete strangers because I am wearing a t-shirt for the obscure noise-rock band The God Bullies. For a music geek the trip to ATP NY is a pilgrimage that must be made at least once before you die. This weekend was my second time attending this spectacular celebration of live music and the international music-geek community.* It was one of the most pleasant and enjoyable weekends of live music I’ve ever had.

Each year ATP NY opens with an evening of full album sets as part of their Don’t Look Back series.** This year’s festival opened with the ridiculous Friday night line-up of The Scientists, Mudhoney, Iggy & The Stooges, and Sleep. Each would perform at the highest level and raise the bar for the band to follow. After watching the legendary Australian post-punk rockers The Scientists play their first ever US-show, Mudhoney time-warp us all back to the dirty and dangerous Grunge emergence, and The Stooges whip the crowd into a sweaty inferno fueled by their own mashed human bodies, Sleep emerged to crush us with two-hours of ultra-heavy stoner-doom metal. How any of us survived the first night to continue rocking for another two full-schedule days is a miracle.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Gaga for Gaga, Gaga for Absinthe

Photo courtesy of
‘Lady Gaga, “Alejandro” (2010)’
courtesy of ‘of Scotland’

So you’re going to the Lady Gaga concert tonight. First of all, got an extra ticket? No? Seriously? Well, for those of you lucky enough to have a ticket in your hot little hand, Chinatown Coffee is rewarding you with a deal. Head over to the shop (located within stumbling distance of the Verizon Center) and be one of the first ten people to show your ticket to the fine folks behind the counter to get 50% off Obsello Absinthe Verte. I think tonight you should bypass the happy hour beers beforehand and try out some absinthe. Gaga would totally approve.

The Daily Feed
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Two DC Designers Debut Winter Lines

De*Nada Lookbook

photograph courtesy of De*Nada Designs


With Labor Day behind us and the autumn season officially underway, it is time to put the summer clothes away and get excited for sweaters, boots, tweeds, and the like. To help you get your cool-weather wardrobe together, two of the most-popular local lines, De*Nada and DURKL, have recently unveiled their A/W offerings.
Continue reading →

Dupont Circle, Food and Drink, We Love Food
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We Love Food: Tabard Inn

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

There are two types of people in D.C.: those who go to Tabard Inn every chance they get, and those that have never been. I have a friend that even uses it as his go-to first date location. And though I like to knock his dating style at any possible point, he really is on to something with this one. It’s casual yet classy, and has that hidden gem feel. Boys, take note. It’s like giving a girl a puppy – she literally won’t be able to resist you.

And calling it a hidden gem is really the best way to describe this particular restaurant. It’s technically located just off Dupont Circle, but isn’t exactly on a high traffic street. And to get to the restaurant you have to wander through the lobby of the hotel, which has a distinct bed and breakfast in rural Maine feel to it. It doesn’t exactly scream high class restaurant. And the restaurant isn’t exactly clearly marked – once through the lobby you hang a left at the stairs, walk through the lounge and head to the hostess podium just outside the bar. She will lead you through the bar and then all the sudden the dining room opens up and it’s like being in some classy lady’s very large kitchen full of some very fun friends.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Updated Turn Signal at M and Wisconsin NW

Photo courtesy of
‘Turn Left’
courtesy of ‘nevermindtheend’

Vehicles driving eastbound on M Street can now make the left turn going north on Wisconsin Avenue thanks to an updated turn signal at the intersection installed this week.

DDOT decided to install the signal after residents and community leaders expressed interest in adding it to the crosswalk’s set of lights.

DDOT says it made the left turn signal change at M and Wisconsin at the request of residents and community leaders. All three lanes on eastbound M Street still travel through the intersection.

Adventures, Entertainment, Fun & Games, News, People, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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HamBieber Born At Maryland State Fair

Photo courtesy of
‘DSC06201’
courtesy of ‘rebeccaejohnson’

This past Sunday at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium, fair goers witnessed the miracle of birth, when a cow gave birth to a calf. The little fella was named “Justin” in honor of Justin Bieber, who was performing at the fair later on that day. Not surprisingly, the audience (consisting of screaming 11 year olds) chose the name.

The Daily Feed
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Success as the Capital of College Football

Photo courtesy of
‘Boise State vs Virginia Tech’
courtesy of ‘utt73’

Labor Day weekend. The last of the summer days is spent by many on the beach or running out of town before September rolls again. But for those who prefer the college football variety over the NFL, the new season has already begun, made slightly better by the fact that it is one of the few fall weekends of the year when we have the sport to ourselves. The pinnacle of that first weekend of the season is often marquee games on Labor Day itself, and two of the most exciting games of the first weekend occurred in two local stadiums separated by just 32 miles apart. Even though most don’t feel like the DMV area is a hot bed for college football, for one night, the Capital was the center of the NCAA world. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Museum Plans Revised

Proposed Model via Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup

The design concept for the National Museum of African American History and Culture has been revised, and the building will now be 17 percent smaller than the original architectural plan.  Although the building will be smaller, according to The Washington Post, the edited design was “favorably reviewed by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC)”.

The architecture team of Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup won the contract to design and build the museum in April 2009, and the Smithsonian museum will be located at Constitution Avenue between 14th and 15th streets NW.  Construction is expected to begin in 2012.

The museum will be the last Smithsonian museum to be built on the National Mall.

Click here and here to learn more about the planned project from NCPC.

The Daily Feed
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Phillips Collection Opens After Fire

Photo courtesy of
‘The Phillips Collection’
courtesy of ‘CathyLovesDC’

The Phillips Collection has re-opened their doors today following the renovation-related fire on September 2nd.  Also, regular admission has been waived for the entire month of September.

The Phillips House will remain closed for repairs until further notice, but all other galleries will be open, including special exhibitions such as Pousette-Dart: Predominantly White Paintings.   

The Phillips Collection is located at 1600 21st Street NW.

Interviews, Life in the Capital, People, The Features
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Living in DC: The Nationals’ Perspective


Nationals Park / Photo by Max Cook

If you’re an outsider looking in then it’s easy to paint each resident of the greater D.C. metropolitan area with a political brush. People living in Maryland, Virginia or D.C. know the District is widely regarded as being the epicenter of the American political spectrum.

In anticipation of Glen Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally at the end of August, We Love DC author Ben H. Rome emphasized that Washington’s culture remains as diverse as its people. The interests of people who live here go beyond day jobs and politics. Living in D.C. is a catalyst for an active and intellectually stimulating lifestyle. Not only do the Washington Nationals know this, but they embrace it.

When they’re not at Nationals Park or on the road, Nationals players take advantage of their new home.

“It’s definitely a fun place to be. There’s always a lot going on in this place whether it’s professional teams or politically. There’s always something you can pay attention to in the news. It’s kind of the center of a lot of things so you always feel like you’re in an important place,” Nationals pitcher Craig Stammen said. Continue reading →