Category Archives: The Daily Feed

The Daily Feed
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McPherson Square Park Cleared, Occupy Rousted

Photo courtesy of gerdaindc
Tent of Dreams
courtesy of gerdaindc

The United States Park Police did on Saturday morning what they had been threatening to do for a week, and cleared out the tents and violating equipment from McPherson Square Park. The four-month occupation of the park by a group of protestors discussing varied issues from income inequality to college loan debt to the war in Afghanistan. Eight were arrested, and one officer was hurt when he was hit in the head by a brick, but otherwise the action was without violence. For a more personal view of the action, I highly encourage you to read Dave Stroup’s take on Saturday’s actions, which speak to the ephemeral community of Occupy K Street.

The photos from the morning after are a sad coda to the state of the park, which had just undergone a refurbishment by the Park Service, with new sod and landscaping both destroyed by the four-month long protest. You can’t do the math on an event like this, though, and expect to get a proper sum. In the end, their issues are on the lips of many District residents, both to discuss, and to mock.

I was very glad to see this pass without significant violence, and without a high arrest total. The Tent of Dreams, pictured above, might have been Occupy DC’s finest hour, but it could only last so long.

The Daily Feed
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Nats open pre-sale for DC-area residents

Photo courtesy of Kevin H.
Day 269/365 – Happy Independence Day
courtesy of Kevin H.

On a sunny February afternoon, it’s a wonderful thing to think about baseball and dream of the balmy summer evenings, the smell of the half smokes on the grill, the hum of an AM radio wafting on the breeze, and the thrill of the grass in front of you.

It’s a lot less fun to think about the drunk from Philly who’s two rows down in front of you throwing batteries at Jayson Werth.

The Nationals have opened up tickets for DC area residents ahead of anywhere else for DC metro area residents through an online pre-sale. This won’t keep the Philly fans out of Nats Park, but it will mean there are fewer of them. Go out and do your duty and cheer on the (drastically improved) Nationals this May.

The Daily Feed, The Mall
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The NGA French Galleries Reinstallation

Photo courtesy of jcm_DC
Four Dancers
courtesy of jcm_DC

Last weekend the National Gallery of Art reopened the Nineteenth-Century French Galleries, which contain works by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Modigliani and Picasso.

The gallery now organizes the paintings thematically and provides textual panels to help visitors understand the reasoning behind the new groupings. In addition, thirteen of the paintings have been restored.

I went last Saturday and was blown away by both the beauty on display and the enthusiasm of the visitors around me. In fact, I was so amazed by the Cézanne pieces that I ran out of time and missed Monet. However that shouldn’t be a problem: the NGA’s price tag (always free) and nearness to Metro mean I can always…Gauguin. Yes, that’s a little Post-Impressionist humor for your Friday.

All Politics is Local, The Daily Feed, Ward 5
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First Campaign Cash Reports are Out in Ward 5 Special Election

Photo courtesy of Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie

courtesy of Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie

While others have taken on the Primary election financial data, I spent yesterday combing through the financials of those Ward 5 Council candidates who have declared their intent to run. I’ve compiled my initial data into a read-only spreadsheet that you can use to dissect the race, and I welcome corrections either in the comments or via email. Using the campaign filings with the Office of Campaign Finance, I have examined closely the filings of the 12 candidates who returned the forms to OCF.  I’m surprised that there are at least eight who have taken out petitions who have yet to return file with the OCF, but there are provisions that would allow a candidate not to return forms right away.

There are four campaigns that have made efforts to fundraise in the first reporting period, representing approximately 20 days of fundraising time.  Delano Hunter leads the pack with just over $20,000 across 119 donors, followed by Kenyan McDuffie with just under $17,000 across 76 donors.  Frank Wilds made a $10,000 loan to his own campaign, but tracked no donations. Bloomingdale ANC Commissioner John Salatti was fourth with $7,600 or so.  No other candidate raised more than $550.

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Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Derrick Rose Takes Out His Anger On The Wizards

Photo courtesy of Keith Allison
Derrick Rose
courtesy of Keith Allison

Reigning MVP Derrick Rose was in a mood.

Sunday night he blamed himself for a loss against the Miami Heat that left him angry, emotional, and determined to make it up in the next game he’d play.

Unfortunately for the Washington Wizards they were that next game. Rose looked like a madman on the court in a 35 point performance as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Wizards 98-88.

The Wizards tried everything they could to stop Rose and the Bulls but it was to no avail. The loss left Wizards coach Randy Wittman a little testy, transferring his frustration to the press after the game. When asked about the team’s Pick and Roll strategy against Rose he answered to the reporter asking the question , “Did you of that question all day? If you have a new strategy, call my office tomorrow. We tried four different things. The way he played tonight, I don’t know if there’s anything we would have thrown out there that could have of. So did he dice it up? Yea, is that what you want me to say?”

I hope Wittman doesn’t read the column I wrote about him.

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The Daily Feed
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We Love the Anacostia River

Photo courtesy of mosley.brian
Anacostia River – Rolling On the River – 5-30-09
courtesy of mosley.brian

There’s a great video (after the jump) of Gabe Horchler of Cheverly MD. Mr. Horchler (the father of one of my friends from Cheverly) has been commuting to work on the Anacostia River for the past 14 years. The video is full of breath taking shots of the river and a great narrative by Gabe. It definitely makes you think about the river and what it means to our city.

I can attest to how amazing the Anacostia is. Back in 2009 I spent a lot of time kayaking along the river, launching out of Bladensburg Waterfront Park. Unlike the Potomac, few people are on the river; this allows a small sanctuary for wildlife to thrive. I’ve seen Great Blue Herons, beavers, snakes, Ospreys, Egrets, and even a Bald Eagle. It can be an amazing experience; I highly recommend going out if you can.

Check out the video after the jump along with a bunch of photos taken along the River. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Dupont Metro South Entrance Closing until November

Photo courtesy of dracisk
dupont circle
courtesy of dracisk

If you use the South Entrance of the Dupont Circle Metro Station, well, I hope you like walking. You’ll be doing more of it, soon. Starting Wednesday, the South Entrance will be closed for 9 months while WMATA replaces the 185-foot spans that rise 85 feet to street level. The company that makes the particular escalators used in that entrance have been out of business for some time, which has made finding parts of the escalators difficult. Given that the spans are some of WMATA’s least reliable, that’s a combo that means replacement and not repair.

WMATA will be putting standard escalators in place and widening the current entrance space to handle these new, wider escalator bays, and the entrance will be closed until November of this year.  Farragut North’s northern entrance is just 0.5mi to the south, and the North Entrance of Dupont Circle will remain open during the work. In the case of emergency, Metro will leave one exit escalator span in place during the work for emergency egress, along with a new spiral staircase. The North Entrance of the station will have additional on-call escalator techs in case of failure.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Friday Happy Hour: Sunburner

My friend and I were heading more or less home for the night, but it was uncommonly mild and a bit early, so we decided to stroll a few blocks out of the way to get a drink before turning in. The last couple of times we had tried to slip into Tabard Inn, it had been crowded with people seeking the cozy confines on cold nights – but on this warmer evening we were able to easily grab spots at the bar.

It being a Thursday, the super sweet Chantal Tseng was behind the bar – in pigtails and argyle knee socks, no less. She made each of us one of her four featured drinks of the night. I received the Sunburner.

Chantal told us she was on “a blood orange kick,” and the Sunburner certainly was part of that. The citrus purée had a thickness that gave the drink a pleasantly rich and silky mouthfeel. The overall composition was not very sweet, but instead vegetal and dry in a really gratifying and unexpected way.

Stopping in for that one drink quickly slipped into a few more (including more blood orange) – every one of them delightful.

The Daily Feed
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Food Tweet of the Week

chef

Courtest Chef Tony Maciante

So I’m venturing out of DC for this Tweet of the Week and north to Bethesda. At Chef Tony’s the rotating menu is seafood focused. The only thing Chef Tony Marciante might care about almost as much as food is social media.

On his website banner you can see a caricature, plus all the ways to get in touch with Chef Tony: Twitter, Facebook, email, “I-phone” and even YouTube. Chef  even even describes himself as “Social Media Guy & High Tech Chef/Restaurant Owner, TV Business Show Co-Host, …student of life, teacher to some, love me someinternet marketing.” He actually sounds more like a social media pro, telling me “100%, iPhone never leaves my side”

My favorite tweet is after the jump.

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The Daily Feed
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Know Your Houses, DC!

Photo courtesy of kimberlyfaye
IA NW: Row Houses
courtesy of kimberlyfaye

I love DC’s many housing styles. The standard federal rowhouse is a DC fixture in the neighborhoods, but how can you ignore the beauty of the Victorians that line the great boulevards? Add in the bungalows and arts & crafts houses (my personal favorite in the free-standing varietals) and you’ve got some really amazing houses in the District. DC Urban Turf breaks it down which is which, as well as adding in a little history about each model. Know your houses, DC!

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Third Annual DC Meat Week Starts January 29th

Courtesy Mike Bober

Dry rubbed, smoked, pulled, braised and brined–no matter how you like your barbecued meat, there’s something for every meat-eating, ‘cue lover at DC’s third annual meat week. For eight nights, you can head to different restaurants around the city (and close by in Virginia) and try all sorts of slow-cooked dishes ranging from dry-rubbed Texas brisket to vinegar-based Carolina pulled pork or saucy Memphis or Kansas City ribs.

In 2005, Meat Week began in Tallahassee, FL and arrived in DC in 2009 after food blogger, Mike Bober of Capital Spice started the Washington Chapter. This year is the first that the event has expanded to eight nights.

DC Meat Week starts Sunday, January 29th and runs until Sunday, February 5th. All of the events are open to the public and most are set up as “pay as you order.” You can find the full schedule after the jump.
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capitals hockey, The Daily Feed
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Capitals Declaw Bruins, 5 -3

Photo courtesy the author

With the team missing Alex Ovechkin (suspension), Nicklas Backstrom (injury) and Mike Green (injury), expectations for the Capitals’ Tuesday night tilt against the Boston Bruins were not high. In fact, most commentators expected the Bruins to steamroll the Caps like so much Boston asphalt.
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