Category Archives: The Daily Feed

The Daily Feed
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Chien-Ming Wang Returns to Mound, Washington Loses 8-5

Photo courtesy of
‘PRE’
courtesy of ‘MissChatter’

The audience: 30,114 in paid attendance.

The critics: an overflowing Press Box with Taiwanese media swarming.

The stage: Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

The Man of the Hour: Chien-Ming Wang

When right-handed starting pitcher Chien-Ming Wang was acquired by the Washington Nationals in 2010, many wondered if he would have a successful recovery following surgery on a capsule in his right shoulder.

Wang, who won 19 games each in 2006 and 2007 for the New York Yankees, missed the rest of the team’s championship season in 2009 due to injury. Friday night was his first night back on a Major League mound.

It was a shaky start but Nationals manager Davey Johnson admitted he was impressed with what he saw despite Wang allowing four runs, four singles, and a leadoff walk to the first five batters he faced. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Friday Happy Hour: Riquitita Rickey

It is the season of the Rickey cocktail. Recently proclaimed the official potable of the District, everybody has been talking about Rickeys. As July, aka Rickey Month draws to a close, many bartenders around the city are featuring variations on the classic summer refreshment, culminating in an event at Jack Rose on Monday night. (Our team will be covering that for you next week.) In that spirit, I felt compelled to tell you about my favorite recent Rickey – the Riquitita at Estadio.
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The Daily Feed
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The Funmongers: US Park Police

Photo courtesy of
‘Mounted Park Police – Restoring Honor rally’
courtesy of ‘theqspeaks’

Is there a group in DC more hated than the Park Police?

Okay, okay, besides the current subjects of local political scandals.  And the Congress. And the credit rating agencies. And the leadership of the Congress.

That being said, it’s hard to look at the organization that is the United States Park Police and not wonder exactly who it is that’s running the show over there, and why it is that they think they can hold back the world from various fun-related activities.  It’s as if they have been setup as the nation’s funmongers, controlling the nation’s fun supply in the extreme and telling us that there is no dancing, no food trucks, harassing the pedicabs, preventing bus stops and now, no soccer near the White House.

FC Barcelona, world soccer’s equivalent of the New York Yankees, in town to play Manchester United at Fedex Field on Saturday, were kicked off the Ellipse for trying to have a little kick around. Sure, they didn’t have a permit, and it was within sight of the White House, and it could’ve been a mob scene if they’d been recognized by soccer fans, but c’mon now, Park Police, this is a little bit ridiculous.

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Daily Feed, We Love Music, We Love Weekends
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Hot Ticket: Marissa Nadler @ Red Palace, 7/29/2011

Head over to Red Palace Friday night for an evening of sultry, dreamy indie-folk with Boston chanteuse Marissa Nadler. Her music is melancholic and lovely, at times reminiscent of Mazzy Star.  She has received a good amount of  buzz lately: her self-titled album was featured on NPR’s First Listen, and she was one of SPIN’s 5 best new artists in June. Her single “Baby, I Will Leave You In the Morning” from her latest album was featured on the Pitchfork Playlist. She’s wrapping up her summer tour of US and Canada with fellow Boston indie-folksters Faces on Film.

Marissa Nadler
w/ Faces on Film
@Red Palace
7/29 – 10pm – 18+
$10

The Daily Feed
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Trite & Cliché, Tourmobile stands alone

Photo courtesy of
‘Tourmobile #5’
courtesy of ‘andertho’

If you’ve ever wanted a tourism villain, Lydia DePillis shows us today why that villain is Tourmobile, and not just the tour bus companies, people who stop outside the Metro car doors, and stand to the left on escalators.  The monopoly that the Park Service has granted to the private enterprise for guided tours, a right which extends to signage for other transit options like the Circulator and Bikeshare, is something of a frustrating beast.

Definitely worth the time to click through and read this one, DC.

Entertainment, People, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Book Signing for the Sleep Deprived

You’ve seen it all over social media. You’ve heard Samuel L. Jackson and maybe even Werner Herzog narrate it. You’ve probably laughed your ass off. Even if you don’t have children and haven’t a clue how agonizingly painfully frustrating it can be to get them down for that nap, I bet you’ve heard of Go the F*ck to Sleep.

Author Adam Mansbach is in town tonight for a reading of his own work at P.J. Clarke’s from 6pm-8pm. The event is free and open to the public with copies of Go the F*ck to Sleep available for purchase and signing. It’s his only area appearance. Mansbach’s book is a current New York Times bestseller and definitely one of the more hilarious satires around, but he’s also no slouch in other areas – such as being the founding editor of ’90s hip hop journal Elementary, an authority on hip hop culture and aesthetics, and author of notable novels like Angry Black White Boy.

Not bad cred. I think I’ll pick up a signed copy for my newbie parent friends. Hopefully they won’t throw it at me for not being sleep deprived and surrounded by diapers.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Jaleo’s 9th Annual Paella Festival

Photo courtesy of
‘Paella at Jaleo’
courtesy of ‘bonappetitfoodie’

We all know it’s been pretty hot out there, so tear yourself away from your kitchen and take advantage of Jaleo’s ninth annual paella festival.

Until the end of July, Jaleo’s paella festival has a variety of paellas made from recipes from Chef Rafael Vidal from Restaurante Levante in Benisanó, Spain. Vidal, for those of you who don’t know, is legendary in the world of paella and his family has served paella to the royal family in Spain for three generations. There’s no cutting corners with Vidal–he makes his paella over a wood fire in Spain and uses recipes that honor the traditions of Spanish cuisine.

A few of the paellas being featured include paella de verduras (vegetables), paella de Iberico de bellota (paella with Iberico pork belly and cauliflower), lobster paella, paella with octopus and garlic scapes and the traditional Valenciana paella with chicken and rabbit. Personally, I’d recommend the Valenciana and the “Fideo Negro con pulpo y ajetes” paella. The Valenciana is a classic, while the Fideo Negro paella might be right for those of you whose taste buds are a little more adventurous. The Fideo Negro paella has pieces of meaty octopus and is a deep, rich black from the octopus ink, topped off with that refreshing bite from garlic scapes.

For more information and the paella menu, click here.

History, The Daily Feed
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Smithsonian Snapshot: Owney the Mail Dog

Photo courtesy National Postal Museum

Tomorrow, one of the National Postal Museum’s most interesting objects is being commemorated with a U.S. postage stamp. During his lifetime, a scruffy mutt named Owney was the nation’s most famous canine. From 1888 until his death in 1897, Owney rode with Railway Mail Service clerks and mailbags all across the nation.

The Railway Mail Service clerks adopted Owney as their unofficial mascot, marking his travels by placing medals and tags from his stops on his collar. By the early 1890s, the traveling postal dog was a regular feature in newspapers across the country as Owney visited town after town. Owney’s unusual life and wide-spread travels have inspired several children’s books. Elementary schools across the United States continue to use the story of Owney as a way to connect their students with those in other states by sending stuffed toy dogs from school to school through the mail accompanied by messages from students to one another.

When he died in 1897, the postal clerks refused to bury their beloved mascot. Clerks across the country asked that the dog receive the honor they considered he was due by being preserved and presented to the Post Office Department’s headquarters. Owney was kept on display there and then sent to the Smithsonian Institution in 1911.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Kastles win another WTT Championship

Photo courtesy of
‘Washington Kastles vs New York Sportimes | Bobby Reynolds’
courtesy of ‘Paul Frederiksen’

If you’ve never heard of the Washington Kastles, or World TeamTennis, we’ll forgive you. The unique format for a tennis match is certainly no Wimbledon or US Open, but it is nothing short of fantastic. And, as of late last night, the Kastles are DC’s winningest franchise over the last three years.

The Kastles took the league title last night and completed a 16-0 undefeated season, dispatching the St. Louis Aces in Overtime, 23-19.  The undefeated season was the first in the league’s history, dating back to the 1970s.  The King Trophy will rest in Washington for the second season in the last three. The Kastles do have a way to go before they reach Sacramento’s strong record of five titles in six years, but if they can continue their winning ways, they may well be the best sports team in DC, and they’ve certainly won more championships than any team in the last decade.

Congratulations, Coach Jenson, Mark Ein, and all the Kastles players!

News, The Daily Feed
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Harry Thomas agrees to repay $300,000

Photo courtesy of
‘PRE_1226’
courtesy of ‘MissChatter’

Late Friday, the story broke that Councilman Harry Thomas had agreed to repay $300,000 to the city as part of a settlement with Attorney General Irv Nathan regarding monies spent by Team Thomas. The repayment, made without interest or penalties, will be made in six payments of $50,000 over the next two years, with the first payment made on Friday.

Not included in the statement is any admission of guilt in spending those monies inappropriately, and Thomas has come out to strongly defend himself in spite of the payments. It’s not clear if the Council has decided that’s enough. Councilmembers Catania and Cheh have called publicly for his resignation, and at least one other councilmember has doubts about Thomas’ purported innocence, saying “Personally, I would never agree to repay money if I did not wrongfully spend it.”

The matter is still under investigation by the US Attorney’s Office, and they have yet to make a decision concerning prosecution.

The Daily Feed
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Friday Happy Hour: De La Sour

On a hot late-afternoon this week, just settling down at the long, cool, marble bar in (very air conditioned) Blackbyrd Warehouse was a pleasure. Having a tasty, interesting drink to sip on made it even better.

Blackbyrd Warehouse opened last week to a fair amount of buzz – without even doing too much to promote. Everybody in town had been eagerly awaiting the new Hilton Brothers project for over a year, though several considerable delays and even concept changes. At one point in the process, Blackbyrd was seen as an all-day place, more like Tryst, with a specialty coffee program for day time, transitioning to more of a nightspot in the evening. As it has been realized, though, it is primarily a lounge with a seafood-focused menu of dinner options. (As with American Ice Company and Patty Boom Boom, with whom Blackbyrd shares owners, food is principally prepared in the kitchen at Marvin, next door.)
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Music, Night Life, The Daily Feed, We Love Music, We Love Weekends
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Hot Ticket: Hayes Carll @ Rock & Roll Hotel, 7/23/2011

Texas native Hayes Carll brings his special blend of folk-tinged, quirky, alt-country/rock to the Rock & Roll Hotel this Saturday night. Carll’s laid-back southern drawl pairs well with quick-witted lyrics and an upbeat country sound. His songs range from banjo-pickin’ twangy ballads like “Bottle in My Hand” to the quick-fire lyrical rocking assault of “KMAG YOYO“, which sounds like an updated version of Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues“. 

He is on US tour now in support of his fourth studio album, “KMAG YOYO” which was released by Lost Highway Records in February of this year. 

Hayes Carll
w/Scott Miller
@Rock & Roll Hotel
7/23 – 7pm
$16

Entertainment, The Daily Feed
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Fringe Beats the Heat

Photo courtesy of
‘morning water’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Starting at 10am today, Fringe tickets will be cut from the usual $17 to $12 the whole weekend long, as a sweet special to help beat the excruciating heatwave our sins have brought down upon us. Promo code is BEATTHEHEAT, of course. It’s closing weekend and there are a lot of great shows still playing, so please help those performers out and go see the shows regardless of the sweat pouring down. Many of the venues are air conditioned, and those that aren’t, well, think of it as a communal steam bath of love.

In addition, the real heatwave banisher is the bottled water and vitaminwater now free at the Baldacchino Gypsy Tent to patrons as long as the temperature is over 100 degrees, which I hate to say looks like both Friday and Saturday. That free water saved my life last night. So go see some experimental theater, and don’t forget to hydrate!

The Daily Feed
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Tomorrow is Code Red

Photo courtesy of
‘Mtn Dew Reach (5)’
courtesy of ‘Robby Green’

No, no the soda.

If you’ve never been in DC when a code red was declared before, here’s the long and short of it: it means air quality will be poor and you should limit your outdoor activities.

If you have been in DC before you might have remembered getting to ride Metrobus routes for free on code red days. That program has been discontinued, as confirmed to me by phone by a WMATA spokesperson. A number of cynical twitter users have commented that you’re likely to get a free ride based on a non-functional fare box anyway. Free or not, get out of the heat and stay safe.

If you want more detail about how a day gets called Code Red, read on.

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