By Ben H. Rome
courtesy of MatthewBradley
As we stop today to take a moment to remember, some of the staff here at WeLoveDC wanted to share our own thoughts about this tragic day in our history with our readers. Please feel free to share your thoughts in comments – but we do ask that you be respectful. (Comments will be moderated as necessary.)
By Tom Bridge
HR 6691. Learn the number. It’s going to be a Thing™. It’s the NRA-backed bill in the House designed to torpedo the District’s new version of the law that ended up overturned by the Supreme Court. It’s got a Lengthy list of co-sponsors from both Republicans and Democrats. The NRA is threatening to withhold sponsorship from anyone who dares not sign onto their effort to strip the Registration requirement and the bar on semi-automatic pistols in the District.
Oy. Look, we know the City Council blew it with their new version of the law, which seems to be in direct countervention to the Supreme Court’s direction in Heller, but did you need to get all micro-manage-y on us? Of course, in response, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton has proposed her own compromise and it might make it to the floor before HR 6691.
The message to take home here is: “Hey Congress, you don’t live here, get the hell out of our politics.”
By Tom Bridge
Last night’s primary results are in and they spell defeat for Republican At-large Councilwoman Carol Schwartz at the hands of Upstart Patrick Mara, backed by big-business interests in DC. Mara has won the right to represent the Republican party for the two at-large seats on the Council this fall. He’ll face Kwame Brown, Michael Brown, Dee Hunter and David Schwartzman, with the top two vote-getters picking up seats on the council.
Of course, last night’s election wasn’t entirely drama-free, as the DCBOEE published erroneous results on their site more than once last night. The culprit ended up being an optical scan ballot-reader in one precinct which was showing a large number of write-in votes that were being counted incorrectly.
All of the other councilpersons defended their challenges successfully, including Mayor-for-Life Barry (Ward 8). While their elections are just for the party slot on the November ballot, in largely Democratic DC, they’re virtually guaranteed re-election.
By Ben H. Rome
So according to this WaPo video, Hizzoner the righteous Marion Barry, Lord and Master of Ward 8, had a “how to” instructional on approaching voters at the District’s primary polls tomorrow. As in, block and annoy the crap out of people who just want to vote.
I’m never in favor of candidate supporters clogging the entrance to polls. I want to vote in peace and quiet, not listen to last-minute pitches and bullcrapola. (Hence my recent run of absentee balloting.) Heck, I’m all for a half-mile “exclusion zone” centered around each polling place.
I’ll give Marion this; he’s persistent. Probably why he’s re-elected…
By Tom Bridge
More Bars in More Places is what AT&T advertises its customers, but today it didn’t matter how many bars showed up on your cellphone, chances are, it had no access to the data network that let mobile applications function. The result looked a lot like what happens when RIM’s network went down.
I know my phone was ringing off the hook with frustrated clients with iPhones who couldn’t see the internet. Rough day for DC, and the outages continue tonight variably. We aren’t alone, though, New York & most of the eastern seaboard is lumped together as part of the same outage.
By Tom Bridge
the "Barra-Brava"
Originally uploaded by busybee
Tomorrow night at RFK, DC United faces off with the Charleston Battery in the final of the US Open Cup. Tickets are on sale, and cheaper than the Nationals, and chances are, we’ll come out on top and take home the Dewar Cup for the year. While the US Open Cup used to be an all-amateur competition, since 1995 it’s been open to MLS and other American Pro Soccer teams. It’d be mighty nice to see at least ONE championship come home to DC this year.
United racked up a 0-0 tie against the Red Bulls this past weekend, leaving them at .500, with 32 points. Fourth in the Eastern Division, sure, but that put them inside the playoff structure, given that they can hold it up for another 8 games.
But, what about our other teams?
By Ben H. Rome
One of my favorite museum sites to visit in DC is the National Archives. Housing the original documents from our country’s founding, the National Archives Experience (as it is officially called) always evokes a sense of awe and history in me and many other visitors. And it’s missed by thousands of tourists every year.
People are surprised to find out that there’s more to the Archives than the popular Rotunda. In fact, the entire mission of the Archives is to serve American democracy by safeguarding and preserving the records of our Government, ensuring that the people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage. As such, the National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) was designed to safeguard and preserve the most important documents to American history and our heritage as a country. Thus, NARA serves both the public and the federal government through a network of facilities across the U.S. Continue reading
By Max
this jersey says it all by dharmabumx
As August comes to a close, we should all be thankful for the amazing weather we’ve had this summer in DC. Sure, there were a few weeks with temperatures in the high 90’s and Vietnam-like humidity, but for the most part we’ve had many reasonable days in the 80’s – perfect weather for baseball and beer. Well, pretty much perfect weather for anything and beer, but when I look at this photo I want to Metro over to the Nationals stadium, buy a ticket, gorge myself with a halfsmoke from Ben’s, and wash it down with a really expensive cup of beer, all the while knowing that our team is destined to find a way to lose.
With only a month left of baseball for the Nats, why not go drink some beer in our new stadium? Might as well get as much out of your tax dollars as you can. They host the Dodgers tonight through Thursday followed by a series against the Braves through the weekend. Be sure to memorize the lyrics to Sweet Caroline for an extra good time.
By Tom Bridge
So, you might be a fan of Brittany’s awesome District Mixtape series of columns that we’ve been putting up. The idea is an age-old one, written about by novelists, charted by all the pop-trend-watchers, and beloved by anyone old than about 25 and younger than about 50. The age of the cassette tape mix was a golden one for music. 60 minutes of space, two cassette decks, a steady trigger finger, and a lot of love. If you want an excellent read about this stuff, grab Love is a Mixtape.
So, it’s with no small amount of sadness that this is what I saw this morning when I went to listen to Brittany’s latest concoction:
The RIAA shut them down. Probably for something like the Royalty Problem that is also potentially about to shutter Pandora. So, I’m a bit bummed today. We’ve (temporarily) lost a great tool for publishing our feature, (don’t worry, we’ll figure out how to get around it somehow.) but it seems doubly unfortunate that they went after this one.
Continue reading
By Tom Bridge
The geographically-based super-engine EveryBlock has finally come to DC. Think of EveryBlock like the best mashup of Flickr, Google Maps, The Public Records Office, MPD’s Crime Blotter, the Real Estate Section of the paper, and just about every news story out there in the District, whether it comes from Blogs, or from the Post or Examiner, or from the local TV affiliates, EveryBlock is there.
It’s all one big map, and they’re all over the geolocation of various events:
This map gives me a listing of real estate around the Brightwood neighborhood. Just a click away in the Crimes listing, or the Calls for City Services, or the Business Reviews.
It’s pretty impressive. Go play!
By Tom Bridge
The rule is, according to the Hatch Act, it’s against the law for someone in a government uniform to partake in political behavior. Essentially, that’s exactly what seems to have happened in an ad for Councilman Jack Evans, which features the councilman in a photo op with Chief Lanier. If the photo was staged by Evans with Lanier’s permission for use in his campaign, it’s likely a violation of the Hatch Act.
By Tom Bridge
Today on the Kojo Nnamdi show, Marion Barry (Ward 8, Mayor for Life) will be defending his elected position against those who would seek to dethrone the king. The show description reads thus:
The presidential campaign may get all the attention, but Washington, D.C. is also preparing for a full slate of local primaries on September 9. And nowhere has that election generated as much candidate interest than in Ward 8, where a crowded field is challenging an influential incumbent. We’ll meet the candidates and talk with them about the most pressing issues facing their community.
Go get’em Marion! You can listen in live via Windows Media Player or Real Player or iTunes streaming through WAMU’s live streaming.
By Ben H. Rome
Have you ever wondered what might be going through the mind of a tourist to our fair area? We see them all around every day, from all corners of the globe – wandering museums, walking the Mall, riding transit. So what if we took a moment to find out what it is they’re thinking as they visit what we see every day?
This is the first in a periodic series of interviews of tourists to our area. Call us curious, but I’m sure all of us at one time or another want to know what these out-of-towners really think about Washington, DC.
So let’s introduce a recent visitor. Meet Diane, from New York City. She actually was in town for the Cherry Blossom Festival; I had enjoyed talking with her then and felt she’d be a great start to this unique series here on WeLoveDC.
By Ben H. Rome
Halberd, dated 1611. Courtesy Higgins Armory Museum
Just in case you’re unaware, the Folger Shakespeare Library is now weaponized.
Currently running in a limited engagement, the Folger presents Now Thrive the Armorers:
Arms and Armor in Shakespeare, an exhibit where you come face-to-face with “a wide-ranging collection of armor and weaponry dating from the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries.” For you non-history types, that’s a critical period in arms development, as the nature of warfare across Europe underwent rapid change to keep up with evolving technologies and societal change.
The exhibit features primarily pieces from the Higgins Armory Museum, the largest collection of medieval arms and armor outside of Europe, along with several pieces from the Folger’s collection. According to Amy Arden, a Folger representative I was able to talk to, the “exhibition centers on Shakespearean plays in which arms and armor figure prominently while also exploring ‘real world’ weapons and fighting techniques from the period.”
By Tom Bridge
At long last, Dr. Sketchy’s is coming back to DC this Sunday at Palace of Wonders in the Atlas District. $5 gets you and your sketch pad in the door where you can hang out with Rev. Loveseat for Dr. Sketchy’s Anti Art School.
It’s actually a big weekend at the Palace, with the Olde City Sideshow coming on Friday night ($10) and the ladies of the Gilded Lily Burlesque performing on Saturday night ($10) as well.
Palace of Wonders
1210 H St NE
Washington DC
By Tom Bridge
Restaurant Week, you are totally my favorite today, and you can certainly stick around. Last night, Tiffany, her brother Ben, and I took advantage of the prix fixe Restaurant Week special at Dino in Cleveland Park. Right across from the Uptown Theatre, and just a few doors down from Atomic Billiards is this wonderful cucina italiana. We had reservations at 8:15, but arrived early, planning to nurse a glass of wine at the bar until our time, but they had a table ready for us right then.
The dining room downstairs is a tightly packed alcove in the front of the restaurant, and we sat at the very edge of it. The only thing I didn’t like about dinner was being afraid I was encroaching on the personal space of the next table. But, with food like Dino’s, you forget about that in a hurry. Their Restaurant Week offering is pretty generous, with an appetizer or half-order of their pasta courses, plus any of their entrées (the bistecca alla fiorentina is the only up-charge, at $12 extra) followed by dessert and an apéritif, for $35.08.
By Max
20080713L1000014 by furcafe
‘Tis the season for barbecuing, the time to gather up your friends and family, fire up the coals, and throw down some of your favorite meats and vegetables. It’s also a great opportunity to toss back a few cans of beer or your favorite blueberry drink of choice. But be careful, DC. When you mix an open fire pit with alcohol consumption, you may very well set the neighborhood on fire.
This brings up a good question. Last year it was discovered that at least 25% of DC’s fire hydrants were out of order. So what state are our hydrants in now? Have they all been fixed? Are we down to 5%? I know the hydrant across the street from my house still has an “out of service” collar on it which is not exactly a comforting feeling. I have to say, from the Georgetown Library fire to the recent one in Mount Pleasant, DC should also be known as the “fire capital” of the United States.
Photographer Chris Chen (furcafe), an omnipresent “man on the scene”, did a great job of capturing the spirit of a backyard barbecue in this shot. While you’ll normally see him with a film camera strapped around his neck (and please note that I have never seen Chris without a camera), this photo was captured using his digital Leica M8.
By Tom Bridge
FiOS may be coming into DC soon! The first hurdle, the Office of Cable Television, has been leapt. The OCT and Verizon came to an agreement to bring FiOS service into DC. This is just the first hurdle, next comes review by AG Nickles’ office, then approval by the City Council.
Of course, that’ll mean running fibre all over town, which means years of construction!
By Max
$2 after 2 p.m. by brownpau
You either love Starbucks or you hate it (or you’re somewhere in between like I am). Regardless, if you get your morning coffee there like I do, hold onto your receipt! According to an AP report, if you show the receipt from your morning caffeine fix, you can get any iced grande beverage for only $2 after 2 p.m. With savings like that, you may actually be able to fill up your car’s gas tank from time to time.
I haven’t given this a try yet but I see an iced grande vanilla latte with my name on it in the very near future.
By Tom Bridge
There’s a sweet new go-go song floatin’ out of over DC today, and that’s the new song from DCVote.org. They commissioned Joe L. Da Vessel to write a new piece for the organization to promote the Voting Rights effort. Check it out (MP3 link) and tell us what you think in the comments.
I think it’s pretty catchy, myself. I like the tribute to the various DC Symbols, including the flag and the city’s motto. And the keyboards are effin’ sweet.
