Category Archives: Fun & Games

Adventures, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 10/31 – 11/2

Photo courtesy of marslog
Blick vom Marriott, courtesy of marslog

I’ve had a few readers comment to me on the fly last week that they loved the “Flashback” I posted this past Monday. So I think we’ll make this a regular thing, mmkay?

You guys certainly lived it up this past weekend; beautiful weather on Saturday made it hard to choose what photos to pick. And I’m continually amazed at what you guys love to do on a fall weekend – maybe we should have the end of DST more often, yes?

After the jump, a smattering of snapshots on your DC metro weekend, all courtesy of Flickr.

Continue reading →

Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Night Life, People, The Daily Feed, The District
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Photo Story: High Heel Race 2008

 avon cosmetics

Last week I warned everyonethat my favorite fall event was upcoming… the HIGH HEEL RACE! And last night, with a good dose of determination, and four layers of clothing, I staked out a front row spot at the race. I was able to get fantastic view of all the fabulosity, so I give you, dear reader: The High Heel Race 2008 in photos. Click on through to view them… Continue reading →

Entertainment, Fun & Games, Night Life, The Daily Feed
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Ghost Tours @ National Building Museum

Courtesy National Building Museum

Courtesy National Building Museum

One of the creepiest places to be this fall will be the National Building Museum. And who doesn’t love creepy around Halloween time? The museum is hosting a lantern-lit ghost tour through through the NBM’s dark hallways, spooky basement, and up to the fourth floor balcony.

The hour-long Historic Hauntings Ghost Tours is led by the ghost of Mary Surratt, co-conspirator in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Along the way, Surratt reveals stories of the other ghosts who call the Museum home, including an irritable horseback rider and mysterious faces in the Corinthian columns. Think history meets creepy fun!

Courtesy National Building Museum

Courtesy National Building Museum

The Tours will be offered from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on October 17, 19, 24, 28, and November 3, 16, and 23. The tours are $12 for Museum members and $14 for non- members; prepaid registration is required. Register by visiting www.nbm.org or calling 202.272.2448

BOO!

Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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White Rabbit Replaced by Bamboo Carterpillars

 

Bamboo Carterpillars
I went to the supermarket at the Eden Center this past weekend to buy some delicious, fresh, cheap produce. That place is the negative reciprocal of Whole Paycheck Foods. Great food at a great price – just my speed.

One of the joys I have going to such places is seeing all the stuff you don’t get in the pretentious expensive places like Whole Foods or the Teeter. For example, this can of bamboo caterpillars in brine would never grace the shelves of most mainstream markets, so it’s almost a treat to see such diversity just down the road from my home.

The one thing I didn’t see there that I was expecting to see were White Rabbit candies, which were recently recalled due to their melamine content. I was glad to see that the news had gotten to them and that they, along with other products I used to see there that turned out to have similar issues were now gone.

Thanks for your social responsibility, Eden Market. You will see me there again and again, but very likely not to buy three ounces of drained briny wormy goodness.

Where do you like to buy your produce?

Arlington, Downtown, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, The District
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Why I Love DC: Katie

tidal basin during cherry blossoms

All the authors here at We Love DC have written essays on why they love DC. As one of the newbie authors, I was asked to follow in the same tradition. So here it is, why I love DC.

Post-college all my art school and college friends headed for New York. I, instead, decided on DC. People always asked, “Why DC, what is it about DC?” and I always would respond “Well, because it’s not New York.” Which, still, to this day, works as a great reason to love DC. I would argue that we have as many fabulous museums here, as many great free cultural things to do, yet DC is decidedly NOT New York.

New York makes me claustrophobic. The streets are so busy, the sky so crowded with buildings, the hustle and bustle more hustle than bustle. I get overwhelmed there, sensory overload, too much, too fast. I like New York in small doses, but never in long, extended stays. It hits you hard, and doesn’t stop. That is fine for my college friends, but not for me.

DC, on the other hand, is far more manageable. It has sky; you are never without seeing the sky. Blue, expansive, gorgeous sky. I never feel walled in here; you can always see up, out, and over. The streets are always crowded, but I can usually reach my arms out and spin in a circle without hitting someone. I can maintain my personal space bubble at almost all times, Metro excluded. I also love reminders that big things are happening here, every day, all day. Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, Business and Money, Fun & Games, Media, Technology
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The City Paper Whines, “It Came From Planet Blog!”

monster.jpg
Chloe the kitten monster! by faeryboots

If you haven’t noticed, the City Paper’s in a bit of a bind. Their parent company has entered bankruptcy, staff cutbacks were threatened, and then rescinded, and now the City Paper’s cover story is in mortal danger.

How does the City Paper respond?

By dissing their readers in a 5,000 word cover story about why their reader-base is forcing them into the poor house. Or the pour-house. Their argument? People prefer blogs and new media to their extensive stories based on their crack investigative team. Shocking. Case in point, their Livingston-award winning story on the arsonist who terrorized neighborhoods in DC over a series of months getting just 5,000 pageviews while a story on Barack Obama’s spittle got them 13,000 pageviews.

No one knows this better than us. The Coffee Kerfuffle back in late July? 16,000 pageviews. Several of our great features? Under 3,000 pageviews. So, yeah, we understand how unpredictable the web is. That’s the joy of it all. Now, I recognize that the City Paper is a business, and it’s their job to make money. That’s our challenge, too. While we’re ad-free now, it’s not going to be that way forever. We just haven’t decided how to do it, yet.

I feel kinda bad for them. They seem to think that the internet came busting on into their office and crapped on their perfectly nice business model. To some extent, they’re absolutely right. But, this is the modern era, and when someone craps in your house, you have to clean it up. So, I suspect this is just the bitching phase from Wemple and his cadre of entitled journalists, upset that they’re being displaced a bit by new media that hasn’t figured out their own business models just yet.

What I can tell you? Four clickthrough pages of faux legalese blaming the readership? Yeah, that’s not going to play well. That’s a pretty shitty underhanded tactic to get you to click through several of their ads and pump their pageviews numbers up even higher. It’s not like the City Paper’s any different from all the other newspapers trying to figure out how to make money online.

Welcome to the club, guys. May the best publication win. And recognize that your competition isn’t who you think it is.

Fun & Games, The Daily Feed
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Gmail, Your Newest BFF

After a long day of work, you go out to happy hour and throw back one too many cocktails. You head home, thoughts of your ex swimming in your head, and you draft a little hate email. Ususally, embarassing things ensue the morning after.

But now, Gmail is here to save you from yourself!  Mail Goggles, the newest feature from the friendly folks at Gmail, requires you do to a couple of math problems after you push send. If you can’t do the math in under a minute, your email won’t be sent.

The Gmail Blog says, “By default, Mail Goggles is only active late night on the weekend as that is the time you’re most likely to need it. Once enabled, you can adjust when it’s active in the General settings”

Great, for those of us who can do simple math problems sober.

Fun & Games
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Getaways: Dog Beach, Maryland

Taxi, charging the surf at Dog Beach in Pasadena, Maryland

Taxi, charging the surf at Dog Beach in Pasadena, Maryland

Now that I am a dog owner, I hang out at dog parks daily, and have been hearing much about the “Dog Beach” in Maryland. It was described to me as a canine oasis on the Eastern Shore where dog, sand, and sun can come together in an untethered paradise of play and pooches. I was really looking forward to this journey, and so, got some travel gear for dogs from Dog Gear.

Enchanted with the vision of a broad, flat beach where our dog Taxi could dash for balls and splash in the surf, Amy and I headed to Dog Beach, better known as Down’s Park in Pasadena, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. There our beloved Taxi sure found joy in the surf.

In the photo above, we have Taxi charging the knee-high waves in an attempt to eat all the bay’s foam. Yeah, she never did that, but did drink enough saltwater to give us a few liquid “surprises” over the next several hours. The beach itself offered us its own surprise too.

Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, Fun & Games, The Daily Feed, The Mall
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The Right Kind of Cruel

Cruel DC.png

This can be a cruel town. Politics. Religion. Money & Taxes. These are our day-to-day discussions! Poor Emily Post would just keel over dead with the inappropriateness of it all. But, it doesn’t always have to be that way. Enter Cruel DC, the second time that Cruel 2 B Kind will be played in our fair city.

What’s the game about? Well, the idea is, you win by complimenting people. Crazy, I know! The boundaries for the game are 7th & Constitution to 12th & Independence, right in the heart of the tourist district. You get a set of “lethal” attacks, like compliments to someone’s shoes, which when they’re used on appropriate targets, will result in you winning the confrontation. Confused? Me too. But it’s fun! Check out the rules in their entirety.

Best of all? It’s free to play. Sign up and have a bit of fun! Game’s not til the 18th, but you’ll need to sign up by the 17th.

Adventures, Downtown, Fun & Games, Special Events, The Mall
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Mallwatching: National Book Festival

Photo courtesy of caryn74
Book World, courtesy of caryn74

I have to admit, this one snuck up on me.

To be fair, it seems to do that to me every year; you’d think a writer like me would be a bit more cognizant of the National Book Festival, especially since it’s right across the Potomac every September.

This year, though, I have an excuse. (We won’t talk about previous years…)

BUT! Just because I’m lame doesn’t mean you should be! The National Book Festival will go on, rain or shine, as scheduled tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Located on the National Mall between 3rd and 7th streets, the festival is free and open to the public. Continue reading →

Adventures, Alexandria, Business and Money, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Ice Cream (Anti) Social

DSC_0444
courtesy of Ben

So Tom points me to an announcement on Cold Stone Creamery’s website, regarding their promotion of two new flavors and their partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation during the month of September. And apparently, tonight is also the 7th Annual World’s Largest Ice Cream Social at all CSC locations from 5-8 p.m, where they’re giving out free ice cream. (Icecreampocalypse, anyone?)

I totally don’t have anything against M-A-W; my sister was a recipient of theirs a year before she passed away. I do, however, continue my lingering grumpiness with the Alexandria CSC location. (They’ve still not sent coupons or called to apologize!) If I could have a wish resolved from M-A-W, it’d be “I wish this CSC would have a faster line!“

Fun & Games, Life in the Capital
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Coming Celebrations of City Cycling

Next week we are going to have my two favorite celebrations of bicycle power in Washington DC:

First up, we have Car Free Day on Monday, September 22, where people from around the world celebrate a day free from the shackles of the automobile. Around here, we have many options to be Car Free DC, and I choose the bicycle.

Next, you can choose to join me in taking over the city next Saturday, September 27th, with the return of Bike DC – a noncompetitive, community bike ride through 17 car-free miles of Washington, DC. Organized by WABA, it’s an amazing experience – entire city streets filled with bicycles. This year both Pennsylvania Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue will be bike-only. But be careful how enthusiastic you get – Bike DC was how I became a triathlete.

Either way I dare say you should join me in a pedal-powered city of cycling!

All Politics is Local, Fun & Games, Technology, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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So, How Long Til This Reaches Law & Order or 24?

osctoavs2.jpg

Apparently, some folks at the Pentagon, unable to make “terrorists might use alternative communication methods and code words” sound sexy to their supervisors, they decided to stage an attack on the White House……in World of Warcraft.

Never mind that there IS no White House in Azeroth, and the closest you could come is setting off goblin grenades in front of Thrall, this is I suppose, a plausible way to have off-the-grid communication between two computers. But really? To blame it on a game?

Are you guys High?!

Alexandria, Fun & Games, Special Events, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Art of Autumn

Photo courtesy of smleon
32_309 Fish.jpg, courtesy of smleon

Fall is right around the corner…and so is the sixth annual Alexandria Festival of the Arts.

The festival runs this year on Saturday, September 13 and Sunday, September 14. As usual, the festival will occupy the section of King Street between the Potomac and Washington Street, so casual drivers of the area should consider alternate routes through downtown. Continue reading →

Fun & Games, Technology, The Daily Feed, The Mall
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Smithsonian Offers Online Content via iTunes

ssonchan.png

The Smithsonian’s amazing museums are instantly familiar to all of us, but their educational programming isn’t quite as popular. Though, now you can get it on iTunes for cheap. $1.99 for 45 minutes to an hour-plus education program? Not a shabby deal. They’ve got four series: Kids, America’s Stories, History and Natural Wonders. Go give it a look, this could be perfect for those of you with an iPod and a longer commute.

Crime & Punishment, Fun & Games, Special Events
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Well, of course sex worker advocacy is fun.

I’d actually put tonight’s Grind the Vote event at BeBar into my calendar several weeks ago because it sounds like a good time for what I consider a good cause. For a suggested at-the-door donation of around $10 – you can use your own discretion based on how well heeled you are – you get to watch striptease, drag, and burlesque acts while enjoying music and drink specials.

Unfortunately, in the time since I first took note of this event, the world has provided a textbook perfect case of why this kind of event is necessary. On July 23, ending almost a year-long spree, suspected serial rapist Mark Humphries shot himself rather than be arrested. By that time nine different women had been raped and threatened with death if they told.

As it turns out, that was almost superfluous. The WaPo story spends its early paragraphs covering the more True-Crime-Drama of Humprhries’ interactions with the police as he attempted to do counter-intelligence on his pursuers, so it’s not till you’re fifteen paragraphs in before the story shows why organizations like HIPS and Different Avenues are so necessary: Continue reading →

Adventures, Fun & Games, Travel
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Beyond the Beltway: Natural Bridge

Photo courtesy of tsmyther
Natural Bridge, courtesy of tsmyther

We’re starting a new series that we’ll post twice a month, looking at various locations, attractions and other fun spots to hit that exist within a half-day’s drive from the Beltway. It’s a way to give you ideas for some fun outside our little circle of asphalt here on the East Coast, without costing you any more than a tank (or less) of gas. Well, aside from tickets, food and the inevitable souvenir, that is.

I figured I’d kick off our first entry with a place that involved good ol’ George; you can never go wrong with our first President. So where in Virginia did George leave his mark early in his multi-faceted career?

Natural Bridge, Virginia. Continue reading →

Fun & Games, Technology, The Daily Feed
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Victowii!

Yesterday I mentioned that I was in the market for a Wii, and boy did you guys deliver with the suggestions! ajw_93 let me know that the Target on Route 7 near Bailey’s Crossroads had been spotted with a couple, and sure enough, there was a single solitary Wii in their cabinet at a little after 8pm. It had only been restocked just the previous hour, making me surprisingly lucky!

Sure, I could have gone The Craigslist Route, but I wanted a fresh & new wii! I was up way too late last night playing mock tennis. Thanks everyone!

Adventures, Business and Money, Downtown, Entertainment, Essential DC, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Music, Night Life, Special Events, We Love Arts, WMATA
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Why I Love DC: David


Capitol Columns #5
Originally uploaded by andertho

My first exposure to Washington D.C. was in 1982 as a side stop on our family’s trip down to see the World’s Fair in Knoxville, TN. On that trip we did the National Aquarium in Baltimore and the National Zoo in D.C.. I remember vaguely, the trees being more plentiful and taller, however I’m also a yard taller now, and they seem now, just a bit shorter. I’m still surprised I remember something from over 26 years ago, but D.C. had that kind of effect.
Continue reading →

Arlington, Fun & Games, Sports Fix
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Capital Summer

Slapshot Banner
Slapshot at Game 7
Modified; originally uploaded by clydeorama

Now that the dust has (partially) settled, let’s look at the Capitals. Yes, that’s right, I said Capitals. Hockey in July.

Because the summer is when a team’s foundation is made.

First off, Brooks Laich and Shaone Morrisonn elected to take the team to arbitration. Nothing to get worked up over, just that Ted’s going to pay a bit more for their services if things proceed as normal. Laich wants about double of his current $725,000 salary.

Matt Cooke has gone north and signed with the Penguins. Not terribly surprising, after Matt Bradley signed his three-year extension back in May. Continue reading →