Photo courtesy of Howard University

It’s hard to express just how much I love a cappella music. My undergrad degree is in Vocal Performance, but of the solo variety, I never quite had what it took to sing in an a cappella group, even if I loved what they were all doing. I think that, more than anything else explains my absolute love for NBC’s The Sing Off, which premiered its third season last night. Featured in the eight groups that performed in the 2-hour block last night was Howard University’s Afro Blue jazz ensemble, a marvelous vocal group of incredible talent.

They absolutely knocked it out of the park last night, so we’ve included the video below the cut here for you to enjoy. They’re singing Corinne Bailey Ray’s “Put Your Records On”, and they completely nailed it.

Congrats, Afro Blue!  They’ll be back in two weeks for the next round.

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At the Corcoran, Downtown Calling and Downtown 81 have been selected to dovetail with their much-buzzed-about current exhibition, “30 Americans.” Iconic pop artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is one of the titular thirty notable African-American artists of the last thirty years, and features prominently in both films.
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‘Chien-Ming Wang’
courtesy of ‘ElCapitanBSC’

Nationals’ starter Chien-Ming Wang, who returned from the disabled list after nearly two years away from the big leagues in 2011, recorded his third win of the season on Sunday in his longest outing since 2008. Manager Davey Johnson continued to sing Wang’s praises after the game, stating that Wang shows consistent signs of improvement each time he starts.

Washington beat the Marlins 4-3 thanks to Wang’s productive start. Wang threw 6 2/3 innings and gave up three runs, two homeruns, and struck out two batters over 93 pitches (60 for strikes). The second homerun of the afternoon hit by Marlins catcher Brett Hayes served as the proper cue for the starter’s exit. Continue reading →

Following Post by Gene Moses for We Love DC

‘Vintage Crystal – Wine, Tapas & Jazz Festival’
courtesy of ‘cliff1066â�¢’

Ah, sunny days with just a hint of chill, briskly slammed the door on summer and launched us into autumn! Walking my dog this morning with sunglasses and a JACKET(!) reminded me of the first time I wore a jacket last autumn – in Argentina!

Along the Andean foothills lies Mendoza – heart of Argentine wine, and especially the ruby red elixir called Malbec. Mendoza lies in desert that some years can go 350 days without any precipitation, yet reliable, consistent wines can be produced because of irrigation from the Andean snow melt. The desert climate also creates high daily temperature variance — some days can have a 40 degree fahrenheit swing – which results in thicker skinned grapes that give Mendoza grapes more body and color. Just the perfect compliment to grass-fed beef steaks or grilled vegetables.

Just 120 miles west, on the other side of the Andes, is the heart of Chilean wine country. In addition to award-winning Casablanca Valley Chardonnay is Chile’s signature red grape, Carmenere. This cousin of Merlot provides a bold, aromatic richness that is just the right pair for harvest-time meals.

This Sunday, I can relive my Andean memories, or virtually escape to Spain’s Costa del Sol, in Crystal City! “Vintage Crystal: A Taste of Wine and Jazz” provides an afternoon of wine, music and dancing — just in time to chase away the rainy days and sweltering heat of summer 2011!
Entering its fifth year, the annual Vintage Crystal: A Taste of Wine & Jazz brings people to the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington for a Spanish and Latin-American inspired festival.
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‘Into DC’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’

This Spring saw the renovation of the road deck on top of the Chain Bridge that joins NW DC and the far northern edge of Arlington County, and closed the bridge for a number of weekends of work. This Fall will be no different, but this time, they’ll be working up underneath the bridge. This weekend will be the first of many weekends that the bridge will be closed, with closures beginning Friday at 8p and ending on Monday at 5a.

Closures will also include the sidewalk, so cyclists and pedestrians will also need to re-route. The nearest alternatives are the Legion Bridge (495) and the Key Bridge (Route 29).

‘US Passport’
courtesy of ‘Damian613’

There have been quite a number of articles written on the subject of Americans and Passports, and the last good figure seems to be about 1 in 3 Americans has their passport. Be it because America is so large and diverse, or because we’re insular (something I don’t buy), or because overseas airfares are so brutal, many Americans never find themselves in possession of a passport.

This Saturday is Passport Day, a program through the State Department to get more people to hold passports and explore abroad. The Passport Agency on 19th Street will be having an event for all who might like to get their passport done, and there are a bunch of other locations in DC that will also have photo services on hand to do photos on the spot. You don’t need an appointment, but you will need a birth certificate and a photo ID, and $135 for the passport (payable in two parts, $110 and $25). $30 more also gets you the passport card for ground travel to Mexico and Canada.

‘Newspaper Guy, Dupont Circle’
courtesy of ‘Photos by Chip Py’

Warm up your RSS Readers, folks, there’s two new blogs that have started today that you absolutely, positively need to be reading. The first is the DC Local version of the Huffington Post, anchored by DCist founding editor and City Paper veteran Michael Grass who launches the new effort with an elegy for the City of Conversation.

Also debuting today is The Atlantic Cities, which is based in DC, but not entirely of or about DC, but given the subject matter, deeply relevant. Heading up this effort is former DCist editor, and TBD refugee Sommer Mathis, whose first column outlines the new effort as a need to comprehend the new city migration: “To understand cities is to get a handle on how most of us live, work, and play.”

I’m really looking forward to more great voices for the District, and these are certainly among them. Congratulations, Michael and Sommer!

The “news” “broke” late this morning that Tareq Salahi was quite upset with the Warren County, Virginia Sheriff’s office because he felt that they were not taking his claim that his reality TV “star” wife Michaele had been coerced against her will. Coerced to do what, exactly, remains unclear.

I’m certain that this has nothing to do with the upcoming auction of the winery.

I’m doubly certain that in no way does this story have parallels to Bunny Lebowski, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, or The Ransom of Red Chief, no matter what you say about the rug tying the whole story together.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to find my lawn chair, a bucket of popcorn, and a map to the Sheriff’s office.

Update: Yeah, she’s fine. She ran off with the guitarist from Journey. Sorry Tareq. Don’t stop believing.