Yearly Archives: 2010

The Daily Feed
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Layoffs Loom For DCPS Teachers

Photo courtesy of
‘Multimedia message’
courtesy of ‘James Buck’

For many DC teachers, summer vacation may unfortunately turn into a permanent vacation. WAMU.org is reporting that a “sizable” number of DCPS teachers will be laid off in the coming days. The firings are part of the school system’s new IMPACT program, a tool designed to assess teacher performance. Using test scores, student growth and outside evaluations, teachers are rated on a 400-point scale. While high scores can lead to bonuses, low scores can prompt a pink slip. The hope is that this sort of reward and penalty system will eliminate ineffective educators and push teachers to strive for excellence. No word yet on how many teachers will be released.

The Daily Feed
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Livo Goes The Distance, Nats Win

Photo courtesy of
‘Livan 2’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

The Nationals won back-to-back road games for the first time since May 12-13 thanks to some fine work on the mound from their youngest starter and their oldest starter against the Cincinnati Reds (53-44).

Livan Hernandez threw his second complete game of the season proving once again that the veteran’s still got it at 35 years-young. Besides helping himself out by driving in a run with the bases loaded in the second, Hernandez tossed 102 pitches, striking out five and the Reds scattering seven hits throughout the afternoon. Not only that but he didn’t walk anyone and didn’t allow any extra-base hits. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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New Food Trucks Coming to a Street Corner Near You

Photo courtesy of
‘Poutine’
courtesy of ‘Joey DeVilla’
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of food trucks. I’m also a big fan of sort of disgusting food that I can eat under the guise of “being international” or “trying new things.” So when the latest and greatest food truck in town, eatWonky, comes on the scene the week of August 16th I’ll be first in line. They will be serving American food with an international twist including signature items such as something called Wonky Fries. More commonly known as poutine, it’s a Canadian delicacy consisting of French fries doused in something called “squeaky cheese” and gravy. Another signature item sure to confuse Washingtonians is the Wonky Dog, a hot dog covered in the above mentioned Wonky Fries. There will be grilled cheese on the menu for those a bit overwhelmed by these belly-buster choices, but be forewarned, it’ll be served with gravy.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, We Green DC
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Free Film Tonight: Food, Inc.

Photo courtesy of
‘Summer Film Series’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

Looking for a way to escape the heat tonight? How about a free movie?

Come see Food, Inc. at Letelier Theater in Georgetown. A reception starts at 6 p.m., with the movie at 6:30. A discussion follows with Food & Water Watch and Food Program Director Patty Lovera.

It’s an eye-opening movie that I found empowering. Especially in the DC area, it takes only a little extra effort to find farmers markets and restaurants offering local food that’s safer and healthier than what comes from factory farms – and that tastes fresh and delicious.

Entertainment, Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Star Wars In Concert @ Verizon Center 7/17/10

Star Wars: In Conert Verizon Center 7/17/10
photo by Don Whiteside.

Earlier today you may have read my interview with David Iskra, the curator of the Star Wars: In Concert traveling props and costume exhibit. While it is not necessary to read that article, I do suggest reading it first for two reasons. One, this article is a review of the musical half of Star Wars: In Concert experience; all of our exhibit photos and most of the information about the traveling exhibit are contained in this morning’s post. Two, the prop exhibit greets the audience as they arrive for the concert and provides at least an hour of entertainment before the music even begins. To better put yourself in an attendee’s shoes, I suggest checking out our exhibit photos to get yourself ready for the adventure that lay ahead!

The original Star Wars trilogy is composed of three of the most beloved films of all time. The prequel trilogy that followed many years later is made up of three of the most divisive. Two common threads connect these six films and Star Wars: In Concert is an event designed to celebrate them. First and foremost, the event is about celebrating the brilliant music of composer John Williams; who scored all six films over a 30-year period. Even the most critical fan must acknowledge that Williams’ music is the most beautiful, artistic thing to come out of the prequel trilogy and that his themes from the original trilogy rank among the most memorable and effective film scoring of all time. Second, the event is about the lineage of characters that populate the six films and the human themes that they evoke in the viewer. Another Planet Touring created Star Wars: In Concert to celebrate John Williams’ music and to explore how it was as important in creating these characters as the writing and acting. It is a touring multimedia event unlike any other film music event I have ever attended. It was a great afternoon full of nostalgia, visual delight, and thrilling music.

Continue reading →

News, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Elton John Brings Star-Studded Tennis Benefit To AU

Photo courtesy of
‘Elton John, Live at Liseberg 8/7 1971’
courtesy of ‘yabosid’

Elton John is bringing his World Tennis Team Smash Hits charity event to D.C. this November, so get ready for a good cause complete with a legendary pop star here on our home turf.

The 18th annual event will take place on November 15 at American University’s Bender Arena with tennis greats such as Andre Agassi, Anna Kournikova and Stefanie Graf all making an appearance on the court. If we’re lucky, Sir Elton might just take a few serves as well seeing as he has a private tennis trainer who travels on tour with him (so says Politico).

All funds raised through the event will benefit the Elton John Aids Foundation and local Washingon, D.C. Area AIDS charities.

The Daily Feed
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Hot Ticket: HEALTH @ RNR Hotel 7/24/10

This Saturday Rock & Roll Hotel is going to be demolished by HEALTH.

HEALTH are perhaps the most exciting American noise-rock band right now. They hail from California and are touring to support “Disco2” an great new remix disc featuring remixes of tracks from there amazing 2009 album “Get Colors”. I was sold on HEALTH when Pitchfork compared them to Japanese noise-rock/percussion royalty The Boredoms. The Boredoms are a band I have seen a gazillion times because their shows are legendary every single time. I even tracked them down while on my honeymoon! HEALTH’s albums are a great mix of electronic and physical noise/percussion and you can hear the influence of The Boredoms on almost every track.

If HEALTH in concert are just one percent as good as they are on their fantastic albums or as The Boredoms are live, then Saturday’s show at Rock & Roll Hotel will be one you will be talking about for a long time.

HEALTH
w/ True Womanhood and Yip Yip
@ Rock & Roll Hotel
7/24/10
$12

Adventures, Alexandria, Arlington, Downtown, Dupont Circle, Entertainment, Foggy Bottom, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Music, Night Life, Penn Quarter, Petworth, The Great Outdoors, The Hill, The Mall, We Love Weekends
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We Love Weekends: July 24-25

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

Rachel: Well, I’m fresh off a stint in Nashville to audition for American Idol. It didn’t go my way but I learned a lot and am ready to rock out harder than ever before after being “cut” from the program before ever seeing any air-time. I’ve got a gig booked for Saturday night at the Tonic Lounge (located at 2036 G Street NW, near the Foggy Bottom Metro). I’m not the only entertainment on tap, several artists from the DC area will take the stage too. So grab a drink at the bar, stay for the tunes, and if you’re a Glee fan I guarantee a solid new cover added to my repertoire from the second half of last season’s show. Not gonna tell you what it is, you’ll have to stop by to hear it. Show starts at 8 p.m. with a $5 cover. I’ll also have albums on sale with proceeds going to the National Kidney Foundation in honor of my late father who received a heart transplant in 1999. Hope to see you there! It should be a rockin’ good time.

Patrick: Weeks of no social life ends this weekend. Noises Off! opens this Saturday at Keegan Theatre in Dupont Circle. As the stage manager I’ll be in the booth playing the role of incompetent sound technician #1. No seriously, come see the show and watch the actors freak out at me during Act III. The show will run through August so I hope to see everybody there eventually. While I’m running the show I’ll also be trying to figure out where to eat and drink before and after performances- anybody have any suggestions for places I should check out around 17th Street?

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Two Stories of Terrorism from NoVA

There are two stories about terrorist connections in Fairfax County in a month. One involves Yahyah Wehelie from Burke, who was in Yemen studying computers, and couldn’t get home because his name ended up on a watch list. As far as anyone can tell, Mr. Wehelie found himself in the same room as some Interesting™ people, and that resulted in a two-month unintentional stay in Egypt. The other involves Zachary Chesser of Fairfax, who was arrested yesterday on charges of providing material support to the al-Shabaab terrorist group in Somalia. One innocent Somali-American prevented from coming home, one suspected white kid from the burbs under arrest for helping terrorists, all from the same county.

The facts in these cases aren’t available to the public, they’re a classified part of the intelligence community’s war chest, which makes it all that much harder to evaluate and see what exactly is happening.

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Would You Climb Up A Metro Escalator?

Photo courtesy of
‘La luz al final’
courtesy of ‘ndutzan’

Here’s an interesting find I read from my co-worker Meggiepoo: a man climbing up the escalator partitions at the Bethesda Metro Station after a Caps game back in May 2009. The video was found and posted over at Unsuck DC Metro and makes me wonder if he was over-served at the game, couldn’t take people standing on the left, or unwilling to walk up a broken escalator.

As a relatively new daily Metro commuter I can understand the rage we all get from overflowing rail cars and broken down elevators and escalators. I do have to give this crazy Marylander some credit, I’ve always wanted to slide down the partition but Metro smartly put metal bumps on them to prevent that kind of crazy behavior. Of course they now make good climbing grips for those willing to scale an escalator.

Of course we here at We Love DC are not endorsing this sort of behavior but I hope it gives you a smile during your lunch.

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News, The Daily Feed, The District
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A Little More on Big Bear’s Situation

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

Yesterday, we posted that Big Bear Cafe would be proceeding to the Alcoholic Beverages Regulation Agency without the endorsement of ANC 5C, something that usually spells the death of any application. However, it’s also worth unpacking some of the allegations from the ANC. They insist in their opposition resolution that Big Bear has been operating in violation of the zoning authority. We asked owner Stu Davenport yesterday about this, and he came back with some specificity concerning the zoning. According to Davenport, and the DCOZ, Big Bear has operated with full knowledge of the District’s zoning authority, and with a certificate of occupancy (CO) from the District. When Big Bear opened in 2006, they had a small 8-seat CO that they expanded to their larger current CO, with full assistance from DCRA and their structural engineers. Though the building they occupy is zoned R-4 (residential), they are operating with an operating exception, and a codified map amendment to preserve the Cafe’s future status is before the zoning commission to match the property to the surrounding zoning of C-2-A.

In short: despite what the commissioners of ANC 5C said in their opposition ruling, Big Bear has been operating legally, under the zoning commission’s rules, with their knowledge, and with all legal permits, including a restaurant permit that runs through May of next year.

The Daily Feed
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Nats Bats Come Alive For Strasburg

Photo courtesy of
‘5TH’
courtesy of ‘MissChatter’

Wednesday night’s Nationals (41-54) game versus the Cincinnati Reds (53-43) wasn’t Stephen Strasburg’s most dominant performance to-date, but the man got the job done.

Strasburg, who just turned 22 Tuesday, tossed 5.2 innings with seven hits, three earned runs, one walk, and seven strikeouts. What worked for the Nats during this 8-5 victory in a ballpark where long ball is often the name of the game (Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark has yielded 2.58 home runs per game this year) is what hasn’t been as of late — their bats. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, People, Special Events, We Love Music
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An Interview with David Iskra, Star Wars: In Concert Exhibit Curator

Star Wars: In Concert
photo by Don Whiteside.

Star Wars invaded Washington DC last Saturday when George Lucas and Another Planet Touring brought their phenomenal multimedia road-show, Star Wars: In Concert, to the Verizon Center for two very special concerts. The concerts featured a massive orchestra and choir performing selections from John Williams’ historic run as score composer of the six Star Wars films.

Another major element of this event is a traveling exhibit of original props and costumes from all six Star Wars films. The exhibit filled the hallways of the Verizon center with exotic costumes and strange creatures from a galaxy far, far, away. My review of the concert portion of this event will go live later this afternoon. But first, here is a transcript of an interview I conducted with David Iskra, the curator of the Star Wars: In Concert traveling exhibit.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Local Chefs Do Farm to Table

Photo courtesy of
‘Veg for sale’
courtesy of ‘randomduck’
Just when you were running out of ways to use rhubarb, the Toyota Farm to Table Tour is here to save you. On Thursday, July 29th from 3pm to 7pm, the tour will settle down in our very own FreshFarm Market near the White House with chef demonstrations featuring locally grown seasonal ingredients. Some notable D.C. chefs will be cooking up bite-sized complimentary tastings using some of their favorite fresh ingredients.

Participating local chefs include Ryan Wheeler of Restaurant Eve, Kyle Bailey of Birch & Barley, Scott Drewno of The Source, Mike Isabella of Zaytinya, Olivier Perret of Ici Urban Bistro, Nora Pouillon of Restaurant Nora, David Varley of Bourbon Steak, Paul Stearman of Marcel’s and Nicholas Stefanelli of Bibiana.

Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts
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The African Diaspora Film Festival at National Geographic

Freedom Riders, courtesy the filmmaker and the National Geographic Society

Beginning tomorrow, the fifth annual African Diaspora Film Festival kicks off at the National Geographic headquarters here in Washington, DC. Showcasing a selection of independent films from around the world, the festival runs through Sunday and is presented in collaboration with the National Geographic All Roads Film Project and TransAfrica Forum. The festival will exhibit 10 films, eight of which are premiering in the DC area.

The ADFF presents to Washingtonians an eclectic mix of foreign, independent, classic, and urban films representing the global Black experience through an extraordinary range of subjects and artistic approaches. Created in 1993 in New York City, ADFF has long been delighting audiences with U.S. and world premieres of independent films, including features, documentaries, animation, and shorts.

The opening film, Freedom Riders, is the first feature-length film about the civil rights activists who risked their lives to bring the American people and government face-to-face with the civil rights inequalities that plagued our nation. The film was a Sundance Film Festival 2010 Official Selection made by Stanley Nelson. Gaining impressive access to influential figures on both sides of the issue, Nelson chronicles a chapter of American history that stands as an astonishing testament to the accomplishment of youth and what can result from the incredible combination of personal conviction and the courage to organize against all odds. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Construction Begins On Columbia Heights Writing Center

Photo courtesy of
‘Lemon #23’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations, and comes from Latin constructio (from com- “together” and struere “to pile up”) and Old French construction. Construction is expected to begin this week on a new writing center for 826DC, the local affiliate of a national youth writing program founded by author Dave Eggers. Up until now, the non-profit has visited area schools to encourage the creative and expository writing skills of local students. While in-class instruction will remain, the new space will give the organization a permanent home for writing workshops and drop-in tutoring sessions. The center will inhabit the old Score space on Columbia Heights Plaza, and should be open for business by autumn according to the best builders you can find at https://www.weinerestates.com.

Like all 826 chapters, the DC center will also boast a wacky storefront. The concept will be the “Museum of Unnatural History,” which is being touted as “the world’s leading authority on all aspects of nature that defy explanation, confound the scientific community, and fly (sometimes literally) in the face of everything we thought we knew about the world around us.” I am not exactly certain what this means, but I’m hoping it somehow incorporates Bat Boy of Weekly World News fame. Even if it doesn’t, the idea promises to bring added spirit and energy to an already spirited community.

Welcome to the neighborhood, 826!


Talkin' Transit
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Talkin’ Transit: Data, Data, Data

Photo courtesy of
‘Horton #9’
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Metro is hoping that a release of their real time data to developers will help them get information about trains and buses to riders faster and in ways they want. On July 8, Metro announced that a public application programming interface (API) aimed at the developer community would be made available in August.

The agency told us it is looking to the community of developers to help solve some of the issues they currently face, including making live data available to the disabled, and helping to make regional transit information easier to access. Metro spokesman Ron Holzer says they would also be “delighted to be surprised with applications that are totally unexpected.”

Metro is also looking to “foster a better culture of transparency, customer service and performance accountability,” with the release of this data. So how will this work? What would this data look like for developers, and what should riders expect to see in the not too distant future?
Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Clever Elvis Headline Gets You Two Tickets To The Newseum Exhibit

Photo courtesy of
‘Beatles & Elvis’
courtesy of ‘Thomas Duchnicki :: Location Scout’

Like Elvis? Think you’re clever? Do you have a witty way with words? If so the Newseum is offering a pair of tickets to their temporary Elvis exhibit via an online contest to whoever can conjure up the “most clever headline” to describe it.

The contest deadline is 5 p.m. EST today.

So lace up those blue suede shoes, get that thinkin’ cap on, and get a whole lot a shakin’ goin on inside that head. I can almost guarentee you’ll be far more witty than the string of puns thrown together in the sentence before this, so give it a shot. It can’t hurt.