Category Archives: Life in the Capital

Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, News, People, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District, The Great Outdoors, We Green DC
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Walk Your Child to School Day

Zozo: International Walk to School Day! from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Perhaps on your commute today you noticed an increase in the level of munchkins and parents walking around the city. That’s because today is  National & International Walk Your Child to School Day.

Beginning in 1997, the Partnership for a Walkable America sponsored the first National Walk Our Children to School Day in Chicago, modeled after the United Kingdom’s lead. The event’s mission was simply a day to bring community leaders and children together to create awareness of the need for communities to be walkable.

In 2010, the event has gone completely global and it’s goals have slightly expanded: To Create Safe Routes, To Engage Kids of All Abilities, To Enhance the Health of Kids and To Improve The Environment.

Adventures, capitals hockey, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, People, The Daily Feed
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Ryan Zimmerman Plays The Jazz Kazoo

Ryan Zimmerman (aka Zimmersapien) loves baseball. He apparently also loves kazoos, berets and jazz.

The Zimm also spends his weekends dancing with Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. No word on if Zimmerman will be teaming up with Ron Burgundy and his “yazz” flute.

Adventures, Entertainment, Essential DC, History, Life in the Capital, Technology, The Daily Feed, The District
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Tour Embassy Row on your Cell Phone

Photo courtesy of
‘How Smart is that phone’
courtesy of ‘Photos by Chip Py’

The Woodrow Wilson House has put together a cell phone audio tour of historic Embassy Row. Narrated by Cokie Roberts, the tour gives listeners an inside look at the history and cultural of this fabulous stretch of Northwest DC, where diplomats, historic figures, residents, and most likely many, many spies live and work.

Highlighted sites include: the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, the Residence of the Ambassador of Turkey, The Islamic Center, Charles C. Glover Memorial Bridge and more.

To take the tour, stop by the Woodrow Wilson House to pick up the pocket guide and don’t forget to bring your cell phone! You can also download a free podcast version of the audio tour at www.embassyrowtour.org.

Adventures, Business and Money, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed
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Commander Salamander Removes “Closing” Signs

Photo courtesy of
‘Commander Salamander, so it goes..’
courtesy of ‘Photos by Chip Py’

It’s been 8 months since we heard word that Commander Salamander was shuttering. Unlike its sister shop, Up Against The Wall, which closed super fast, the Wisconsin Avenue punk/hipster/preppy/raver shop has chugged on, despite keeping the “Store Closing” signs in its windows. This has left shop fans and area residents confused and perplexed about the store’s future. Was the shop still closing? If so, how could it take 8 months to liquidate the merchandise? Is Commander Salamander just playing tricks and using the signs as a gimmick to increase store traffic?

Then, like it had never happened, a few days ago the signs disappeared. But the questions still remain. Does the removal of the signs mean it’s really the end? Or has a crisis been averted and the shop will remain?

Life in the Capital, Special Events, The District
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Judith and the Wonderful, Remarkable, So Good, Very Great Book

Photo courtesy of
‘Judith Viorst at National Book Festival’
courtesy of ‘tiffany bridge’

Last week was not my best. My car was broken into. I paid the DMV $125, courtesy of a speeding ticket I earned on my way to an ill-fated meeting. I got a fat lip, and the vending machine in my building ran out of frosted Pop-Tarts. It was, by all accounts, a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week.

But all bad days — and weeks — come to an end. Saturday dawned much brighter, and I set off to the National Book Festival to meet children’s author (and personal hero) Judith Viorst. One of Washington’s leading literary figures, Mrs. Viorst immediately made me forget my recent string of bad luck. Chances are, one of her books has helped brighten one or two of your days as well.

After all, Mrs. Viorst authored the iconic children’s book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Published in 1972, it has sold over two million copies, and ranks as one of the most famous and best loved picture books of all time. It has taught generations of children that rotten days happen no matter who you are, or where you live. It also suggests that while Lady Luck can be cruel, the tides of fortune change. The gum you woke up with in your hair can be removed with ice or peanut butter. The hated pajamas you must wear to bed will get dirty; you’ll get to wear your favorite pair tomorrow night. Windshields can be fixed, and vending machines are restocked. With the end of every bad day comes the potential for a great one.

Continue reading →

Adventures, All Politics is Local, Business and Money, Entertainment, Essential DC, History, Life in the Capital, News, People, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District, We Green DC
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Here Comes The Bag Monster

Photo courtesy of
‘an entity’
courtesy of ‘romana klee’

Andy Keller, known to many as the “Bag Monster” is bringing his 500 – 700 plastic bag suit and plastic bag display to DC today.  If you caught Andy when he visited DC on September 6th, then you already know that Keller’s suit represents the amount of plastic bags the average American uses in a year and the rest of his display, 45,000 plastic bags, a single person’s lifetime consumption of bags. Keller’s goal is to educate communities about the harms of single-use bags, and while DC’s bag tax has helped diminish bag consumption, we’ve still got a ways to go.

If you spot the bag monster, send us a tweet @welovedc with his location.

Adventures, Entertainment, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, People, Special Events, The Daily Feed, The District
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10/02: DC Rollergirls 2010 Season Kick Off

Photo courtesy of
‘Roller Girls’
courtesy of ‘Edward Hoover’

On Saturday, October 2nd, the DC Rollergirls kick off their 2010 season with the Cherry Blossom Bombshells taking on the DC Demoncats at 4pm. For those of you who haven’t yet experienced some girl-on-girl rollerderby action, what the heck are you waiting for?!!

There’s campy player names (Miso Knotty, Ridin Dirty, Ovary Action, Marion Barracuda, etc.,) full-contact rules, high levels of athleticism, intense amounts of strategic action, the possibility of being tackled by a rollergirl if you stand near the sidelines and, the kicker, no beer lines (FYI: it’s cash only). Oh, the matches are kid friendly as well, so bring the little tikes with you!

Adventures, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The District
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FoxNews: GU’s Bulldog More Dangerous Than A Momma Grizzly

Photo courtesy of
‘Georgetown v. Villanova basketball – 2’
courtesy of ‘Aaron Webb’

FoxNews has published a list of the Top 15 Most Dangerous College Mascots and the slobbering, cute furball pictured above (aka: Georgetown’s “Jack The Bulldog) has made the list. Fortunately, he’s in good company with fellow bulldog comrade, the University of Georgia’s smushball “Uga.” What actually qualifies Jack and Uga for the list is unknown as the news agency didn’t outline the criteria or list methodology.

Personally, I can think of a lot of other “mascots” that are more dangerous than the animals on this list; they generally tend to involve college students dressed up as mascots. Human decision making, especially college student decision making, is a hell of a thing.

Adventures, All Politics is Local, Essential DC, History, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Happy Birthday Star Spangled Banner!

Photo courtesy of
‘The Glory That Is Old’
courtesy of ‘ojbyrne’

On this day, 196 years ago, young lawyer Francis Scott Key wrote the poem that would eventually become “The Star Spangled Banner.” Mr. Key who has been sent to negotiate the release of Dr. Beanes, an American taken hostage by the British, witnessed the Battle of Fort McHenry from a British sloop anchored behind the British Navy ships.

As night fell and the over 5,100 rockets, bombs, cannon balls, flares, etc. reined down on the fort, the immense American flag disappeared from sight. Come morning, as the lyrics go “our flag was still there” signaling that the British attempt to take Baltimore had failed.

Once off the British sloop, Key rested at the Indian Queen Tavern, where he recorded his famous poem. 5 days later, the poem had been printed and circulated all over the Baltimore area. Unsurprisingly, considering Baltimore’s “colorful” tavern atmosphere, someone eventually figured out that the poem’s lyrics worked smashingly well with the popular English drinking song “To Anacreon in Heaven” and the rest is, well, the history of our National Anthem.

Adventures, Business and Money, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Today’s Fashion Crawl with Stacy London

Photo courtesy of
‘delicious meatpies selling next door’
courtesy of ‘LaTur’

Today from 11am-5:30pm, Stacy London of TLC’s “What Not To Wear” fame is hosting a fashion crawl around DC to promote the launch of  Style For Hire (SFH). SFH recruits London-esque stylists who can help us everyday folk edit, add to and transform our wardrobes into expressions of our personal and unique sense of style.

The fashion crawl will be happening all over DC, so check the schedule to see when SFH and Stacy London will be headed near you.  Also, bring an orphan garment that needs a little embellishment, and SFH will help you give it a whole new life.

Business and Money, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The District
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What’s This I Found?

Along with taking over the Blue Bus Dupont to Rosslyn Route, the DC Circulator has decided to get all techie on us with the roll out of QR codes. Recently, I noticed these bar code-esque additions (located near the bus exits) on my daily commute and I was, naturally, curious. Where would the code take me and my smartphone? Turns out the location it’s too exciting, it’s a quickie “how are we doing” customer service form. However, it did open my eyes to the super mobile and user friendly “Where is My Bus? For DC Circulator” app that covers all the various DC Circulator routes and schedules. Super useful.

Interviews, Life in the Capital, People, The Features
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Living in DC: The Nationals’ Perspective


Nationals Park / Photo by Max Cook

If you’re an outsider looking in then it’s easy to paint each resident of the greater D.C. metropolitan area with a political brush. People living in Maryland, Virginia or D.C. know the District is widely regarded as being the epicenter of the American political spectrum.

In anticipation of Glen Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally at the end of August, We Love DC author Ben H. Rome emphasized that Washington’s culture remains as diverse as its people. The interests of people who live here go beyond day jobs and politics. Living in D.C. is a catalyst for an active and intellectually stimulating lifestyle. Not only do the Washington Nationals know this, but they embrace it.

When they’re not at Nationals Park or on the road, Nationals players take advantage of their new home.

“It’s definitely a fun place to be. There’s always a lot going on in this place whether it’s professional teams or politically. There’s always something you can pay attention to in the news. It’s kind of the center of a lot of things so you always feel like you’re in an important place,” Nationals pitcher Craig Stammen said. Continue reading →

All Politics is Local, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, The District
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Michelle Rhee On “This Week”

Photo courtesy of
‘Michelle Rhee’
courtesy of ‘angela n.’

Yesterday morning, DC’s chancellor of Public Schools, appeared on ABC’s “This Week” to weigh in on the current state of America’s public education system. During the round table discussion with Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, President of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, and host Christiane Amanpour, Rhee (who joined via satellite from Sacramento) spoke to the revamping of the DC teacher evaluation model, implementing a merit-based compensation system  and reforming the way government resources flow into the school districts.

See the first segment of the discussion, after the jump.

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Adventures, Business and Money, Entertainment, Life in the Capital, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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A Flip Camera Liaison

Photo courtesy of
‘Flip-Mo’
courtesy of ‘agent_shir’

The Liasion, an Affinia Hotel located on Capitol Hill, currently has a very intriguing and knowing DC hotels, potentially scandalous, end of summer offer.  Book a minimum two night stay for $229/night and they’ll gift you a Flip Video Camcorder. Hmmm…I wonder what possible uses, aside from capturing our beautiful city, this video recorder could have at a hotel called The Liaison. Marion Barry better watch out.

Adventures, Entertainment, Essential DC, Fun & Games, Life in the Capital, People, The District, The Features, The Great Outdoors
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Soccer Playing Opportunities: WAWSL & WISL

Photo courtesy of


‘Ft Slocum Soccer Ball’
courtesy of ‘Wayan Vota’

As the summer months draw to a close, so begins the Fall soccer season. And for those of us who have played practically all our lives, soccer is in the air. We’re hypersensitive to the lowering of sun’s trajectory, the crisper air, and the smell of freshly cut grass. It all evokes memories of the morning practices and games, when the dawn’s mist slowly lifted from the field.

Fortunately the DC area offers plenty of soccer playing opportunities for any and all levels, and for those who wish to play on coed, men’s or women’s teams. Should your preference be a single sex team, there are two leagues in particular that I believe offer the best soccer playing experiences in the DC area, and they’re recruiting players of all levels for the fall season.

Next November 2022 do not miss out all the details of the Qatar World Cup at ESPN that will have all the details of the matches.

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All Politics is Local, Downtown, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, News, People, The District, The Features, WTF?!
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And For Mayor, We Endorse…

Photo courtesy of
‘Mayoralty elections (LOC)’
courtesy of ‘The Library of Congress’

As the countdown to voting day continues, many have asked us here at WeLoveDC just who we’re going to endorse for Mayor of the District. We’ve had a long and exhausting debate on our author email list, and quite frankly, we couldn’t come up with a unanimous choice, much less a majority decision. So instead, we decided to offer up our own endorsements for mayor, in our own words.

You may be surprised at who we picked. Continue reading →

Downtown, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, News, People, Special Events, The District, The Features, The Mall
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DC: We Are More Than What Others Say We Are

Fire and Ice
‘Fire and Ice’
courtesy of ‘bhrome’

To the Tea Party tourists visiting this weekend:

We’d like to welcome you to the nation’s capital.

Please note that despite some serious misunderstanding and outrageous assumptions made beyond the Beltway, DC really is a safe city to visit. We do recommend, however, that you just avoid Baltimore completely. Think of it as our certifiably insane sibling to the north, with delusions of class. (And yes, I am kidding. We DCites do have a sense of humor, especially at Baltimore’s expense. And Philadelphia’s.)

Despite some ramblings of various cantankerous individuals, the District does have a lot to offer you on your visit. We bust a lot of myths about our fair city here on this site; please take a moment to see if we’ve answered any of the ones you’ve heard. We also showcase a lot of amazing arts, theater, restaurants, individuals, and other great things about the DC area here; I invite you to check out what else lies beyond the Mall and maybe sample some of our wares. Continue reading →

Featured Photo, Life in the Capital, We Love Arts
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Mod Madness at the Textile Museum


All photos by Max Cook

When the hustle and bustle of the modern world has a stranglehold on our sanity, we are quick to look for an escape maneuver.  Between the demands placed on us from all angles, the constant task of making ends meet, and the humdrum of our daily routines, we long for something different to speed up or slow down the tick-tock of the invisible metronome.  This is why we jump out of airplanes on purpose, take trips to faraway places, lose ourselves in books and movies, and find other creative ways to exercise the right side of our brains.

Along with this instinctive desire for escape, we often long for the days of the past, for a time when life seemed simple and had fewer complications.  Perhaps we covet the lifestyle of our parents’ generation or the days of our youth, the days before global warming, STD’s, and high fructose corn syrup.  We are nostalgic by nature which is why vintage clothing has always been (and always will be) so popular, why we buy classic cars, watch black and white movies, and collect antiques.  This is why we smile when we see a girl ride by on a 3-speed Raleigh bicycle, carrying flowers or groceries in the wicker basket, why we indulge in cheeseburgers and malts at silver roadside diners, and why we love the intangible feel of old grainy photographs.  This is why Mad Men is one of the hottest shows on TV today, and why Frank Sinatra songs will always make us want to slow dance with our partner.  While we can’t wait to see what the future holds, we will always keep one foot in the past.

I often think it would be great if for just one week, or even one day, we could all stop typing, stop texting, stop Twittering, and stop e-mailing.  Instead, write a letter, have a formal dinner party, go on a picnic, read the newspaper, and discuss things over coffee.  It appears that I’m not alone in my thinking, as last week hundreds of dreamers, escapists, and exhibitionists descended upon the Textile Museum for the second PM at the TM, an event called MOD MADNESS.  Presented in partnership with The Pink Line Project, well-dressed attendees were treated to interactive gallery tours by WE ARE SCIENCE, DYI silk screening by the Washington Printmakers Gallery and Kristina Bilonick, and live jazz by the Pete Muldoon Quartet.  I was there with my camera and for three short hours, the metronome stopped.

Continue reading →

Crime & Punishment, Essential DC, Life in the Capital, Technology, The District, The Features
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Protecting Your Bike

Photo courtesy of
‘Next time, lock up the entire bike’
courtesy of ‘billaday’

I love bike riding. And I love bike riding around DC. It’s truly a fantastic mode of transportation, whether you’re headed to work or play. Since moving to DC in 2006, with my Cannondale in tow, I’ve noticed a significant increase in the amount of bike traffic. I’d most likely attribute this rise to 1) increased Metro fares, 2) the addition of numerous bike lanes and bike racks, in part spearheaded by the WABA, and 3) the increase in popularity of road biking. Sadly, the increase of bike riding has also meant a parallel increase in DC bike theft, and if you’ve ever had your bike stolen, like me, you know how much of a personal affront it is and how irreplaceable your perfectly fitted and outfitted bike was. So, in an effort to prevent further bike theft and the ensuing anguish, I asked Mike Christian of Revolution Cycles for some tips and advice on how to better secure our bikes.

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