Category Archives: Life in the Capital

Life in the Capital
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If you’re working for Wolf Trap watch what you tweet. Maybe.

Photo courtesy of
‘Leisure in the Grass’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

The Wolf Trap Foundation presented its employees with a new social media policy this year. Unless you happen to work for them this probably strikes you as about as interesting, news-wise, as the Pope continuing to be Catholic. Social media policies aren’t anything new or even necessarily anything to be concerned about. There’s something to be said for knowing where you stand and what standard you’ll be expected to meet.

When we spoke last year about this issue it was something brought on by Meg’s termination. We Love DC’s media law go-to Kevin Goldberg helped us understand the ins and outs of defamation suits and we more or less closed out by pointing you to his article  on his firm’s blog about writing a social media policy for your organization. When I shared the details with him he said they probably represented “a step up from what is required” when it comes to the nature of the guidance.

What makes Wolf Trap somewhat interesting is that the people bound by this policy work side by side with people who are not bound by it. Foundation employees are working for a general non-profit but another sizable group at the park are federal employees of the National Park Service – folks who have sometimes better, sometimes just different free speech protections than the average employee. Like what? What’s Wolf Trap’s guidance? For that you’ve gotta read on…

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Adventures, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Media, Music, People, Technology, The District
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Sick DC Time-Lapse

If the above doesn’t work for you here’s a direct link to the District 1.5 : HDR Time-lapse from Drew Geraci.

Via the power of the interwebs, I stumbled across this awesome HDR time-lapse by Drew Geraci. The shots were taken over a 3 day period, during which Geraci was stopped 9 times by the National Parks Service and 3 times by DC Metro police;  post-production (rendering, editing, etc.) took Geraci only 1 day. This is the photogs first full scale production time-lapse using the new HDR technique that he’s developed from his own personal photography experience.

Personally, I’m loving the locations selected; they really capture the heart of this city. Whoever said that DC is a sleepy town clearly needs to see this as the locations selected, be they thoroughfares, monuments or sites, are packed with pedestrian and vehicular activity. In the 3 plus minute long video, we’re taken on a whirlwind trip around DC through saturated hi-def quality of the shots and kickass crescendoing musical accompaniment. Tre cool.

Adventures, Business and Money, Education, Entertainment, Essential DC, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The District, The Features
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Quick Contest: BLT Cooking Class

Happy Friday everyone! In celebration of the end of the week, BLT Steak and WeLoveDC are giving away two seats for this Saturday’s (aka tomorrow’s) South American Asado cooking class. The two hour plus class will be held at BLT Steak, starts at 12:30pm and features in-depth instruction from Executive Chef Victor Albisu on how to prepare exotic and delicious barbecue from South America. Oh, did I mention you also get a filling four-course lunch of the dishes demonstrated during the class? Well, yeah, you do.

BLT holds these executive cooking classes six times a year and seats generally go for $100. So for all you aspiring chefs, this is the perfect opportunity to glean some 5 star tips, tricks and creative methods of preparing foods AND fill your belly with yummy goodness.

To enter for the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address (one entry per email address, please) between 11am and 1pm today. Entrants must be able to attend the class in person, so check your schedules. If you aren’t declared the winner, you can always make your own reservations with Erica Frank at 202-689-8989 or erica@bltrestaurants.com.

Adventures, Business and Money, Entertainment, Essential DC, Food and Drink, Life in the Capital, News, People, The Daily Feed
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DC’s Dolcezza On Today’s The View at 11am

Photo courtesy of
‘Dolcezza 6156’
courtesy of ‘yospyn’

Huzzah! DC’s very own Dolcezza will be on ABC’s “The View” today at 11am and we’ll get to see owners Robb and Violeta Duncan chumming it up with Whoopi, Sherri, Joy, Elizabeth and Babs. I can only assume they’ll be talking about: 1) Gelato–in particular their seasonal summer flavors (Peach, Pineapple Cilantro, Mojito…) and 2) Dolcezza’s focus on locally produce ingredients and their collaboration with local area farmers.

If you’re not familiar with Dolcezza, you can read about how They Make DC or visit them at their three area shops in Georgetown, Dupont Circle and Bethesda.

Adventures, All Politics is Local, Business and Money, Education, Essential DC, Fun & Games, History, Legacy articles, Life in the Capital, People, The District, The Features
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50 And 50, And Oh Yeah, DC

Society6, an organization that connects artists with unique opportunities and empowers them to make their artwork available for sale without giving up control of their rights, recently completed an innovative project titled “50 And 50.” The idea behind this endeavor was to recruit 50 designers, one per each state, and have them illustrate their state motto using the same color-scheme. The results are modern, yet historical grounded, designs that would make any wall fit for oversized art proud.

Fortunately for us, although not part of 50 states, DC was included in the project and represented by Oliver Munday, whose  illustrations and designs have graced bookcovers, TIME, The New York Times, Wired, etc. And for those of us completely naive to DC’s “state” motto, it’s “Justice For All” or as the Romans prefer “Justia Omnibus.” Continue reading →

Adventures, Downtown, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The District
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Planking with G-Wiz

“Planking,” the ridiculous, yet popular practice of lying face down with arms to the side in an unusual or incongruous location, taking a photo of it and posting it online has reach the upper ranks of the Washington DC sports scene. Pictured to above, you see G-Wiz, the beloved Wizards blue thingy, planking on Ted Leonsis desk. No respect, no respect. G-Wiz was also seen planking across The Nats’ Abe Lincoln, the nearby Chipotle and some WMATA turnstiles.

Sports Illustrated has a solid collection of famous athletes, namely former Wizards player Gilbert Arenas and Dwight Howard, who apparently have PLENTY of free time and nothing better to do than take pictures of themselves planking all over their expensive cars, pool tables, exercise equipment, etc. There’s also a planking example courtesy of Redskins rookie receiver Niles Paul.

Adventures, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, News, People, The District
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A Top 10 List We Can Be Proud Not To Be On

Keep it Clean

Travel + Leisure readers have spoken and our nation’s capital is not one of the top ten dirtiest cities in America. In the publication’s annual America’s Favorite Cities survey, participants gauged “dirty” in a variety of ways: litter, air pollution, even the taste of local tap water and the publication found New Orleans, Philadelphia, Memphis, New York City, and our neighbor to the north Baltimore, wanting for cleanliness.  That’s not to say that DC didn’t appear on the more comprehensive list; in fact, it was ranked 15th on the list.

The America’s Dirtiest Cities list is only one of the many compiled from reader’s responses about 35 U.S. urban destinations. The publication breaks down responses by those according to visitors and those according to residents. DC ranked well in the historical sites/monuments (duh!), museums/galleries (duh again!), business hotels, public transportation/pedestrian friendliness, etc. We didn’t do so well when it comes to all-in-one retreats, affordable hotels and relaxing retreats.

What I find most insightful and funny about the survey’s results is where visitor and resident opinions align. For instance, both groups give DC high marks when it comes to culture, but pan the city on local food specialities (coffee, barbecue, micro brews, etc.) and new year’s eve celebrations. Things get funny when it comes to ranking DC inhabitants; while we get high marks for intelligence and diversity, both groups ranked us below 25 when it comes to stylishness, friendliness and attractiveness.

Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Capital Pride 2011

Photo courtesy of
‘rainbow’
courtesy of ‘redjoe’

This weekend is Capital Pride a festival which has been happening in one form or another in Washington since 1975. This brings with it plenty of events and activities for the whole DC community to get out and enjoy.

I asked my friend Shevonne, Editor in Chief of Where the Girls Go – a great blog for anybody, focusing on arts, culture, and life in DC with a queer bent – to give me her tips on parties, parades, and Pride.
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Entertainment, Essential DC, Food and Drink, Life in the Capital, Music, Night Life, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District
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Saturday Memorial Concert for Adam Hosinski and Rory Weichbrod

On October 9th, 2010, Adam Hosinski and Rory Weichbrod, were crossing Rockville Pike in North Bethesda, when they were struck and killed by a driver who was later arrested on DUI charges and convicted of manslaughter.

This Saturday, from 2-7pm, friends and family will gather at The Bullpen, across from Nationals Stadium, to celebrate the lives of these two men, with a memorial concert and fundraiser for two charities (The Special Olympics and Operation Once in a Lifetime) the two were closely involved with. The event was conceived and planned by several of Adam and Rory’s closest friends, specifically the band members of Midnight Spin, close childhood friends and classmates of Hosinski and Weichbrod. According to the victims’ close friend, Kevin Boyle, “The concert is a memorial, a charity fund raiser, and most of all a celebration of the lives of two of the best guys I was lucky enough to have as a part of my life.”

The weather for tomorrow will provide the perfect day to head over to The Bullpen for tons of fun, live music, cornhole, a fast pitch baseball machine, food and drink, but most importantly to remember two DCers taken far too soon.

The event will not require a cover charge.

Life in the Capital, News, Special Events, The District
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Legal Analysis on the Jefferson Dance Restrictions

Photo courtesy of
‘Jefferson Memorial’
courtesy of ‘qr7d88 (Alex) *mending*’

Summer is a time for re-runs and apparently that goes for protest events too. Adam Kokesh and others have indicated their intention to show up at the Jefferson Memorial this Saturday at Noon for a repeat performance of last Saturday’s civil disobedience. There’s over 2500 folks RSVPed on Facebook, though that seems to include folks who are going to boogie remotely in solidarity.

I already weighed in with my opinion on how I thought the protesters should have responded during their arrest and a number of you weighed in with your position on me getting stuffed. I thought a more useful follow-up would be from someone with actual law knowledge so I reached out to Kevin M. Goldberg who has helped us out with speech law before.

Kevin is Special Counsel at Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth where his area of expertise is First Amendment, FOIA and IP issues, making him a good person to turn to about this. Plus he still takes my calls. He’s also a regular contributor to their CommLawBlog where you can find items like his recent piece about “copyright trolls” and the BitTorrenters who don’t so much love them. If you’re getting your Gaga or Hangover 2 fix via less-than-legit channels this might be the kind of thing you’re interested in reading about.

For the moment, though, let’s talk about doing the monument boogie. Take it away, Kevin.

Don first contacted me Sunday evening with the idea of a guest piece about the Oberwetter decision. That’s Oberwetter v. Hilliard, the case that Adam Kokesh and the other protestors were responding to when they had their Jefferson dance-in this weekend. His suggestion for a primary focus was the subject of that case’s odd-sounding finding: That the inside of the Jefferson Monument is not a public forum.

This isn’t a the first time Don and I have discussed this subject. I teach Journalism Law at George Mason University and talking about when, where, and how the government can and cannot legitimately restrict your speech gets sizable attention in my lesson plan. Not that long ago Don audited my class to make sure We Love DC can try to enjoy a long and lawsuit free existence. Ever since he’s been contacting me as his “expert” on speech law. (Note to self: update email filters)

This event was no exception and we exchanged a few emails about the details of the Oberwetter case and this more recent event. While I can assure you that nothing would make me happier than to show Mr. Whiteside up both publicly and violently, I have to say that I can’t. We’re in total agreement here on two counts: (a) it’s unfortunate that (b) the Court of Appeals probably got this right.

How can that be when anyone’s free to walk into the memorial any time of night or day? How do two people slightly left of Marx on speech rights come to a conclusion like that one? Well, let’s discuss.

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Adventures, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, News, People, The Daily Feed, The District
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Help Dog Find Its Owners

This little cutie was found Sunday afternoon in an alley near 16th NE. His rescuers describe him as “ridiculously sweet, trusting, quiet, and well-behaved” and as much as they’re enjoying his companionship, they’re hoping to reunite the pup with his family ASAP. If you recognize him, please email founddogdc@gmail.com.

Adventures, All Politics is Local, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, News, People, The Daily Feed, The District
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Help Find Lost Dog Sassafras

YouTube Preview Image
It’s been 6 weeks since beagle-jack russell mix and kill shelter rescue, Sassafras, escaped from her daytime caretaker in the AdMo area. Since then, her family and dedicated volunteers have hung 2000+ posters, received 4500 phone calls, created a “Find Lost Beagle Sassafras” blog, posted numerous tweets, facebook entries and listserv entries, brought in two professional trackers, and united the DC dog community to help find Sassafras. As a result, there have been numerous reported sightings of Sass with the latest at Rock Creek Cemetery on May 11, but she has yet to be reunited with her family.

In their search to find Sass, the owners have uncovered both the positive and negative facts of recovering their dog, including the need of having the pet doors locked at night.

1) The city department charged with disposing of dead animals, does not notify pet owners even if the dead animal has tags and other easy identification.

2) While many area shelters post pictures of animals brought to their shelters online, the DC shelter does not, even though they have the capability. Continue reading →

Crime & Punishment, History, Life in the Capital, The District, We Love Drinks
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Breakin’ the Law: Prohibition in DC

Garrett Peck
Garret Peck (photos by the author)

Wednesday night I attended a talk on Prohibition in DC by local author Garrett Peck. He’s got a new book on the subject, developed as a result of his research for his first book, along with the knowledge he’s amassed leading the Temperance Tour. Much as it is now, DC was a playground for politicians who wanted to try out new rules. Prohibition was thus imposed on the District in 1917 by politicians who, privately (and sometimes publicly) didn’t themselves care much for or about the law.

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Essential DC, Life in the Capital, The District, Tourism
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It’s Tourist Season: Share the Love

Silhouettes
All photos by the author

A couple years ago the Social Chair and I were sitting at a bar when the couple next to us asked us a question. They said they’d overheard our conversation with the bartender and were looking for a restaurant recommendation, since they were visiting from out of town and wanted to try something other than their usual haunts. We got to talking about where they were from (“Outside Toronto”), and we mentioned that we were leaving in a week to go visit family and friends both in and outside Toronto. It was at this point in a conversation with a Canadian that I would usually get to play my trump card, since my sister lives in a town even most Ontario natives haven’t heard of. But when we told them the name of the town (West Montrose), they got a little wide-eyed. And then they asked, “which house?”

It turned out that these strangers, from “Outside Toronto,” had almost bought that very house, and after they didn’t buy it their friends did. Their friends, in fact, were the couple who sold the house to my sister and brother-in-law (and since my sister’s family is moving to The Hague, it’s for sale again). In this city you never know who you might meet.

Judging by what I’ve seen on Twitter, and a stale rant that has been making the rounds again (which I won’t dignify by linking here), tourist season has fallen hard on some of you (the fact that it arrives at the same time as allergy season also doesn’t help, I’m sure). But I ask your patience as I make this heartfelt plea: please be nice to tourists.

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Adventures, All Politics is Local, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, The District
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Georgetown Waterfront Update

Photo courtesy of
‘Video: Scenes from around flooded Georgetown waterfront’
courtesy of ‘brownpau’

Despite yesterday’s fears, the 9pm high tide came and went without the Georgetown waterfront breach reaching K Street. As of 8:30am this morning, the Georgetown Waterfront is still completely shutdown with very, very limited access. The K Street side of the Waterfront is filled with emergency flood repair vehicles, workmen, Pepco vans, etc., all awaiting instructions from site surveyors. Local buildings continue to monitor their basements and lower level garages for flooding and seepage.

I managed to gain access to the 31st Street walkway that leads to the waterfront, and saw a heavily pumping Potomac river and the front side flooding. While the flood barricades along 31st street were all in tact, I could see where the waterfront walls leading into the fountain area had been breached. At that time the river was below fountain area level, and I could see some evidence of water being pumped out of the fountain pool back into the river.

All Politics is Local, Essential DC, History, Life in the Capital, News, The Daily Feed, The District
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Union Station Birds Target New York

I was in Union Station this morning, waiting for a train and zoning off, when I noticed a striking difference between the Acela’s DC, Philly, NYC and Boston overhead posters. While all the posters feature a stylized Acela train speeding through each city’s unique skyline and all hang from the rafters in very similar positions, the New York City poster was the only one covered in bird poop, especially towards the bottom of the poster.

Upon noticing this difference, I began looking for some simple explanation for this avian vandalism. Perhaps the NYC poster was simply, and unfortunately, hanging in an already popular bird hang out? No. No birds insight. Perhaps the NYC poster featured some sort of bird attracting color? Nope. Posters were all fairly similar in color scheme.

After surveying the poster scene, I could come to no other conclusion then that the Union station pigeons, sparrows and starling clearly dislike Amtrak’s NYC Acela poster, and NY by association, and they have decided to express their 2nd amendment rights by strategically bombarding it with their poop. Case solved.

Entertainment, Life in the Capital, The Features, We Love Arts
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Do DC Millennials Care About Art?

Photo courtesy of
‘(065/365)’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

Last night a friend pulled up an article on her phone that she said I simply had to read. It was a piece on the Huffington Post by Michael Kaiser, president of the Kennedy Center, bemoaning the lack of exposure to the arts by Millennials. Among other things, he points out what he calls the “low culture IQ” of twentysomethings who may have achieved a great deal already in their chosen professional fields, but have little knowledge about or even interest in attending a theater performance or going to an art gallery. The bottom line for Kaiser is the fear of what happens when Millenials hit middle age and are in a financial position to help the arts – will they?

As a member of Generation X, I always find the anxiety of the Boomers over whether the Millennials will take care of them to be mildly humorous, considering those fears were also expressed about us, and every generation hits that fear eventually. We’re now finding ourselves being asked to join boards of directors of arts institutions and worthy non-profits. What happened to being called lazy slackers in our crazy clubkid days? After years of being asked to go in the servants’ entrance it’s always funny when they finally let you in the front door.

Joking aside, I definitely feel passionate about the future of the arts and of course I want to help in their support. When I’m out reviewing, to my untrained statistical eye it seems like DC audiences are relatively mixed in age. However, lately I’ve been hearing the same question over and over from different theater companies – how do we get young audiences in? By young, they mean Millennials, though at times they even stretch the age range up to the late thirties, which shows just how dire the lack of attendance might be.

So, I want to hear from you. Here in DC we seem to have an amazing array of opportunities to enjoy the arts. But is Kaiser right in his worry that Millennials have little to no exposure to the arts, and consequently won’t support them? How often do you attend theater performances, art exhibits, concerts – and what makes you choose the ones you do? Is it a question of interest, or of being able to afford it? Please sound off! I’d love to hear what you think of Kaiser’s views and whether, in DC at least, you see it as an accurate crisis.

Update: There’s a backlash growing in the arts community to Kaiser’s post. Read more reactions from 2AMt and Tipping Over Backwards.

Adventures, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District
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WeLove BabyLove DC

Photo courtesy of
‘Pink Knit Baby Booties’
courtesy of ‘[F]oxymoron’

Based on a successful charitable model, BabyLove DC provides clothing, products, gear and other necessities to pregnant mothers and their children in DC’s inner city. The group hosts monthly drives to collect new and gently used items, such as baby monitors, crib bedding, bottles, clothing, toys, diaper carriers, etc. All donations must have been purchased within the last 3 years, with certain items (diapers, breast pumps, bottles, cribs and feeding supplies) accepted as new only.

BabyLove’s next drive takes place this Saturday, April 9th from 9am-1pm at Hardy Middle School (34th Street and Wisconsin Avenue, NW) just across from the Social Safeway.

In addition to donations, BabyLove needs volunteers to help sort and repair clothing, and help coordinate and run their drives and charity events. If you’re interested in volunteering or donating, you can contact BabyLove DC at info@babylovedc.org