Monthly Archives: May 2010

The Daily Feed
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Gods of Angkor

Photo courtesy of
‘Mysterious Sackler Stairway’
courtesy of ‘andertho’

The Sackler Gallery is gearing up to open a new exhibition called Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia on May 15th.  The exhibit will be featuring 36-plus examples of bronze castings, ranging from the prehistoric period all the through the post-Angkorian period (which, if you don’t know what this means – like I didn’t, it references third century BCE to to sixteenth century CE). The exhibition will continue till January 23 and is the result of an ongoing partnership between the Freer and Sackler Galleries and the National Museum of Cambodia.

So if you want to check out art from Cambodia, and save yourself a super long plane ride – this would be the perfect exhibit for you.

News, The Daily Feed
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Democracy in Action: Anti-Soda Tax Coalition Emerges

Photo courtesy of
‘pepsithrowback’
courtesy of ‘wfyurasko’

Lead by approximately three dozen local restaurants, a new coalition against the Soda Tax has emerged in the wake of Mary Cheh’s proposal to the City Council. Members include Magruder’s, Au Bon Pain, Corner Bakery, Pizza Boli’s and pretty much every corner market in the city, as well as an unexpected member: United Medical Center. The tax would add a penny per ounce to every soda purchased, from single bottles, to multipacks.

The Daily Feed
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Bernadina Help Nats Steal Series From Mets

Photo courtesy of
‘Bernadina waits on a fly’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

The Nationals last eight games have all been decided by two runs or less. They’re 5-3 in that run, notching the 6-4 victory today at Citi Field versus the Mets to add to the win count.

Washington is now in sole possession of second place in the NL East. Tyler Clippard leads the league in wins with seven. Matt Capps leads the league in saves with fourteen. But the real story of the day goes to Roger Bernadina who hit his first two career homers with a solo shot  in the fourth and a 2-run blast in the 9th to put the Nats ahead, not to mention a heroic diving catch in right field during the fifth.

Starter Craig Stammen also helped himself out with two hits and three RBI’s during today’s rubber game.

The Nationals are now 19-15. The next game is 8:40 EDT against Colorado from the road.

Technology, The Daily Feed, We Green DC, WTF?!
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Turn Old Jeans Into Insulation for Habitat

Photo courtesy of
‘levis rivet bw’
courtesy of ‘christaki’

Our friend Erin from Unclutterer pointed out this excellent campaign from MoCo Professional Organizer Scott Roewer to collect a bunch of blue jeans. Got a pair of well-loved, but in need of retirement blue jeans? Donate them to Scott, who will turn them into awesome insulation for a Habitat for Humanity house. He’s already collected over 300 pairs, but he needs to get to 500 in order to have enough insulation for a single Habitat home.

If you can help, leave Scott a comment with your contact information and he’ll direct you to how to send him your jeans! Me, I’ve got two pairs that can probably go off to be insulation…Scott, drop me a comment here?

Entertainment, Night Life, The Daily Feed
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DREAMGIRLS Come To Washington

Photo courtesy of
‘Dreamgirls’
courtesy of ‘pulguita’

The National Theatre announced that DREAMGIRLS will have a two week only run in the District starting July 28 and ending August 8. Ticket will go on sale Sunday, June 13 and will run between the $55.00 – $95.00 range.

DREAMGIRLS, in case you didn’t see the movie version with Beyonce and Jamie Foxx, is the story of an up-and-coming 1960s girl group equivalent The Supremes.  DREAMGIRLS captures the trials and tribulations of the women in these situations, shedding light on the historical past of the ever-changing American music scene.

Tickets are available through Telecharge online or over the phone at (800) 447-7400. Tickets will also be available at  The National Theatre box office starting July 5.

The Daily Feed
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Lots of People Getting Married

Photo courtesy of
‘Sock Monkey Wedding Cake Topper Birdcage veil 1’
courtesy of ‘SpiritMama’

The D.C. Superior Court has already issued more than 2,000 marriage licenses this year, setting a pace that could generate new records in the city for licenses per year. At this rate, D.C. could issue up to four times as many marriage licenses in 2010 than they did last year.

The increase in marriage licenses is due in part to same-sex marriages being legal in the District for about two months now. D.C. Superior Court does not break down the numbers of how many were same-sex or opposite-sex applications, but 2,082 applications completed since the March 3 action allowing same-sex marriages was passed.

“To put that in perspective,” Judge William Jackson told WTOP. “All of last year was about 3,000.”

Interviews, The Features
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They Love DC: The Guys of Matchbox & Ted’s Bulletin

PerryDrewMarkTy

You love Matchbox’s pizza, you go there religiously for brunch (hello sticky buns!) and you’re a big fan of the mini burgers. But what if I told you Matchbox isn’t the only place around town these days? The four owners behind Matchbox have teamed up to open Barrack Row’s newest hot spot, Ted’s BULLETIN. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, BULLETIN is a classic joint with a bit of style—complete with savory homemade food and a friendly, neighborhood atmosphere to provide relief from today’s time-congested lifestyle. BULLETIN offers homecookin’ with clever names, like Walk of Shame Breakfast Burrito, Nana’s Beer Biscuits and Gravy, the Green Green Salad of Home with Green Goddess Dressing, or home-style Meatloaf with Mingo County Ketchup Glaze with a “Big As Ya Head” Twice Baked Potato or Mac and Four Cheese with Andouille on the side.

I was able to chat with partners Perry Smith, Drew Kim, and Mark and Ty Neal, who took on the challenge of answering the They Love DC interview jointly.

Katie: How long have you lived in the DC area?
Them: All four partners moved to DC in the summer of 2002. Partner Perry Smith grew up in the area and attended B-CC High School.

What is the best thing about DC, in your opinion?
First, we all agree–the people–so many different people come to DC year in and year out and it’s great to see so many new faces. The energy is awesome, and you don’t see a lot of folks sitting still, they are always doing things!

What would you change about DC if you could?
Find some money to improve snow removal! We always get hit hard every few years but then get lulled by a couple of mild winters and forget how bad it can be! Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Former Italian embassy bought by condo developer

Photo courtesy of
‘And the light shineth in darkness;’
courtesy of ‘LaTur’

The City Paper reports that the former Italian Embassy, having gone on the market last year, has finally sold. Valor Development of Bethesda plans to turn the building into condos, calling it “The Flats at Il Palazzo,” because, I don’t know, an Italian name makes overpriced condos sexier?

Greater Greater Washington points out that the embassy’s move had been in the works for nearly 30 years, and it finally moved in 2000. The Italian ambassador got mugged in Meridian Hill Park in 1971 and wanted a less crime-ridden area. So the Italian government bought the new property, it took 29 years to move into it, and then another 9 to put the old one on the market. So the old embassy has been standing vacant for 10 years, and Valor expects to put the condos on the market next summer.

Good luck with that.

With time, we are moving forward, too. Dhaka is changing with keeping the same pace as the modern world; maybe that is why Dhaka is one of the most desirable locations for property hunters among the Asian countries. With the rapidly changing city, our lifestyle is slowly adapting to the modernity of it all. A major part of our life is our residence, look at this site https://firstaccesscondos.com/ from the Pre-construction Condos in the Greater Toronto Area. Where do we want to live? How many square feet will the house be? We have advanced from these basic needs. Just good prices, good locations, or a good home cannot attract us anymore, newer components are needed. Whether you want to sell or buy a new home, you should be aware of these 10 things home buyers want. This list of tips for buying home will help you understand the needs of a customer as well as double your flat price! Let’s take a look at the things that modern home-buyers look for in their potential home.

The Daily Feed
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Get Ready For Some Boomin’

Photo courtesy of
‘curtain’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Okay, so maybe heading out to an outdoor movie isn’t the best idea for tonight. We’re in for some thunderbolts & lightning, very very frightening me. Specifically, the warning from Accuweather, via the Capital Weather Gang, suggests we could be in for some weather rock & roll this afternoon late as the front that brought us some warmer weather today hits the cold front that’s had the down comforter back on our bed at night. As always, lightning is no laughing matter, and the CWG breaks down some lightning-related myths for us all to enjoy.

With all seriousness, the NoMa movie night is indeed an all-weather event, so take a brolly and your mackintosh and you should be just fine.

The Daily Feed
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NoMa Summer Screen Starts Tonight

Photo courtesy of
‘A possum and a movie camera 1943’
courtesy of ‘Australian War Memorial collection’

We’ve Gone PLAID!

Okay, maybe we’re still just at ludicrous speed. Tonight, NoMa BID’s Summer Screen events, an excellent alternative to Screen on the Green, kick off with Spaceballs on the outside screen on L Street between 2nd & 3rd NE. There will be food & drink opportunities on site thanks to Smokin’ Something and NoMa BID, and best of all it’s free. It’s just two blocks South of the NY Ave Metro, and you can stop for a warm coffee on your way at Pound Coffee just across from the Metro entrance.

News, The Daily Feed
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Barnes Dancin’ in the Street

Photo courtesy of
‘Barnes Dance preview’
courtesy of ‘nevermindtheend’

DDOT’s experiment with the Barnes Dance in Chinatown kicked off today at the intersection of 7th and H streets NW at 10 this morning.

Almost 27,000 pedestrians and 26,000 vehicles use the proposed intersection on an average day, making it a prime location for such a test.

A few details pertaining to this particular variation on the Barnes Dance include: allowing pedestrians  to cross with traffic that has a green signal and prohibit all turns by all vehicles at that intersection to increase pedestrian safety and maintain a steady flow traffic.

Drivers: If you intend to turn left or right off of 7th Street NW or H Street NW, DDOT requests you use an intersection before or after the Barnes Dance Intersection.

Anyone get any fun photos of today’s inaugural Barnes Dance in Chinatown? If so, let us know in the comments!

Food and Drink
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Time Out: Yoga for Foodies

Yoga for Foodies

David Romanelli leads a yoga pose. Photo credit: Lindley Thornburg

When you go to an event called “Yoga for Foodies,” it’s hard to know just what to expect. Is someone going to pop a chocolate-dipped strawberry in your mouth as you strike a triangle pose? Is it going to be pretentious? And most of all, are you going to have to sit in a fancy restaurant in your yoga clothes, all sweaty after an hour of backbends and other contortions?

Thankfully, at last Friday’s event at Zola with David Romanelli, the answer to all those questions was no. The food followed the class, the atmosphere was relaxing, dinner was served in a private space near the yoga floor, and the class was calm enough to leave us un-mussed. Whew.

What Romanelli delivered was a time-out, a chance to stretch quietly after a busy week, lie on the floor, and really listen to him. His mission, he said, was simple: To help us slow down and savor life.
Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Nats Fall to Mets in Late-Inning Heart Breaker, Still Tied For Second

Photo courtesy of
‘_MG_0847’
courtesy of ‘dbking’

We’ve got ourselves another Nationals (18-15)  rubber game to play this afternoon at Citi Field. Right-hander Craig Stammen (1-1, 5.63), who is coming off a strong start against the Marlins last week at Nationals Park, enters today’s Mets (18-15) game with a Nationals team who has gone 5-1 in rubber game match-ups this season. New York is 0-5.

The Nationals continue to stay above .500 this season due to success in close games and series finales. Washington is 8-3 in one-run games this season while four of their five rubber game wins have come by a single run.

Washington has seen their fair share of close late-inning games in 2010, but tend to win in the end. Not this time.

Last night’s 8-6 loss was a heart breaker. It was especially rough since the Nats pretty much locked up the game early on in the run count. They led by three runs after the first, five after the fifth and four after the seventh. Then — something we have yet to see this season occurred — Tyler Clippard combined with Brian Bruney let the Mets score six runs in the eighth, squandering the lead and the game for the first Nationals loss while leading by five runs.

The Nationals three-game win streak is snapped, giving the Mets the slight advantage momentum-wise going into today’s contest despite their rubber game loss count – a direct result of a late-inning come back Tuesday night.

New York has won the past four series played at Citi Field. Whoever wins this afternoon will obtain sole possession of second place in the division.

Game starts at 1:10 p.m.

The Daily Feed
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Still Time to Contribute to Relay for Life Arlington

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I’m sure many of We Love DC’s readers are familiar with regional events related to Relay for Life, one of the most well-known charity events for the American Cancer Society. The locally-based Relay’s often happen at universities, but this event is actually designed to go beyond campus and into the DC/VA community contribute against the disease. The Arlington Relay will be held at Wakefield High School, June 19th and 20th, and so far, it has raised nearly $40,000 for ACS.

Even if you don’t have time to throw a team together, there are still plenty of opportunities left to contribute, rght up until the day of the event. There will be a silent auction on-site at the Relay on June 19th from 3-7pm, including rounds of golf at exclusive country clubs (Old South CC and Hidden Creek CC), Redskins Box Tickets, signed Alex Ovechkin Capitals jersey and gift certificates from some of the nicest Arlington-based restaurants.

For more information, check out the details at the Relay for Life website.

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘Michael DeAngelis || mdeangelis.net’

Featured Photo is a day late this week, mostly so we could get you our Metro round table wrap up in a timely fashion. That reflects in no way upon this week’s Featured Photo.

The color red is very eye catching. So much so that many people in photography point out that if you see something red, you should stop and take the shot. I think that’s a pretty good rule, often better than most other photographic rules. It often works, but not solely because of the inclusion of the color red.

The photo above by Michael DeAngelis is more than about that red wall. The composition of the shot tells a story. Or, rather, several stories — like a pick your own ending adventure book. Even in black and white, the composition is strong enough to carry the day.

Just because there is an established photographic rule, doesn’t mean that blind obedience to it will result in a good picture. Composition, story telling, those thousand words, they need to be present to make a good shot.

The Daily Feed
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Washington Iconic Structures

Photo courtesy of
‘Pillars’
courtesy of ‘Skigle’

The National Building Museum is opening a new exhibit called A Century of Design: The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 1910-2010. The CFA advises the President and Congress on “matters of design and aesthetics” that affect government buildings and the preservation of national monuments.  On display from May 15 through July 18, the new exhibit will pay homage to the influential role that the CFA has had on 10 major projects in D.C. – from the Lincoln Memorial to even our beloved (or loathed, depends on the day) Metro System.

In commemoration of the exhibit, on May 19th from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM, the National Building Museum will co-host Power, Architecture, and Politics: The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the Design of Washington – a symposium that will further explore the essence and influence of the CFA.

The Daily Feed
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John McIntyre returns to Baltimore Sun; word nerds rejoice

Photo courtesy of
‘red pen’
courtesy of ‘peretzpup’

I know this is a DC site and all, but the news that John McIntyre has returned to the Baltimore Sun as copyeditor and blogger has made me so happy I just had to call attention to it. Every publication needs an editor with a dry wit and aversion to hyperbole and cliché. (Yes, this one too. I’m working on it. Not least through reading McIntyre’s excellent blog.)

You can catch up on what McIntyre did during his yearlong layoff from the Sun at his blog-in-exile.

Entertainment, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Ramayana

Andreu Honeycutt and Heather Haney in Constellation Theatre Company's "The Ramayana." Photo credit: Daniel Schwartz

Which would you rather be – a god, a demon, or a monkey? In Constellation Theatre Company’s production of Indian epic The Ramayana, the answer is definitely a monkey. I haven’t seen actors having so much fun on stage in ages. At times, maybe too much fun. Mounting a multi-character multi-location multi-verse is daunting, and I admire director Allison Arkell Stockman for attacking something so challenging even larger companies might balk. Constellation’s mission is to produce “epic, ensemble theatre” with “heightened physicality” – and The Ramayana is definitely all that. When it wavers, it’s the fault of being too generous, of allowing too many focal points and not streamlining enough. But it’s still an enjoyable night out, playing now thru June 6 at Source Theater.

The Ramayana is one of two of the most beloved and sacred texts of India (the other, The Mahabharata, was also put to stage in Peter Brook’s famous version some twenty years ago, see the film sometime to get a taste of how fantastic that theatrical experience was). It details the trials of Lord Rama as he endures exile and the kidnapping of his wife Sita by the demon Ravana. Rama is the incarnation of Vishnu and represents the ideal king on earth, his wife Sita is the incarnation of Vishnu’s wife Lakshmi and therefore the ideal queenly wife. Actually, every character in The Ramayana is an archetype of the ideal way to behave – from loyal brother Lakshman to devoted monkey Hanuman.

With so many characters travelling through many worlds, it’s vital to have a backbone and here Stockman has picked the best – live music composed and performed by percussionist Tom Teasley. From playing the doumbek to scat singing, he pulls the audience along as a kind of musical narrator, and it’s easily the second most riveting performance of the evening, grounding time and place far more effectively than any set design.

The actors are clearly envigorated by Teasley’s musical support, and no where is that more obvious than with those delightfully crazy monkeys, highlighted by a stellar standout performance by Joe Brack. If Brack doesn’t get a Helen Hayes nomination for his work as Hanuman, there is no theatrical justice in this town.

Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, The Daily Feed
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Nohow On Plays The Red and Black Bar May 15

Nohow On photo

A New York City trio of self-proclaimed “garage-folk” rockers are taking the stage at DC’s very own Red and Black Bar on Saturday May 15.

Nohow On were recently named one of L Magazine’s 8 NYC Bands You Need To Hear and are on tour this spring/summer to support their debut record “You and Me and Other Fables”.

Think Bob Dylan goes to West Africa all while getting a lesson from Neutral Milk Hotel.

Zach Deputy and Aunt Martha will open the night.

Show starts at 9.

Arlington, News, The Daily Feed
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Rhodeside Grill Crash

Photo courtesy of
‘Rhodeside Grill, Clarendon’
courtesy of ‘carlweaver’

What’s with people driving their cars into things this week? First we had the I-395 Tunnel incident off New York Ave, then we had a UPS driver plow into the Hirshorn Museum, and now we’ve got a car crashing into Courthouse nightspot Rhodeside Grill in broad daylight during an accident.

C’mon now people, cars are for driving, not careening into things with, okay? Seriously, people, this is getting silly.