Brad Pitt Has Your Secret Shit: Rolling DC

I like how that Hedgpeth felt she needed to explain what the treehouse builders do for a living but not the woman who spends 20 hours a week trying to get the DC govt to tear the treehouse down.

http://www.washingtonian.com/2016/01/15/the-real-instagram-husbands-of-washington-dc/

“I have no innate interest in photography. I am just a monkey with a finger. I do have a feel on what looks good but have primitive technical skills and little desire to improve.”

hahaha that sounds like it could be a Warhol quote

I made it to the Anacostia Museum 1963 to 1975 exhibit and the Renwick's new offerings yesterday. Both worth seeing.

Saw this over the weekend:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/general/2016/01/18/at-reeves-center-demonstrators-say-muriel-bowsers-gotta-go-go/

It seems like pissing off http://www.onedconline.org/ is a pretty good way to ensure a single term?

it is now legal to sled on capitol hill

Best part of that recent bill.

x-post--Yes, but is Bowser pissing off most Black and Latino workers, and who will take her on?

@wmata
Metro to suspend service during blizzard: tinyurl.com/za2z3w2 #wmata

good luck. we're all counting on you

24-30" huh, g'luck all

Now thinking that I did not lay in enough wine.

I mean my boss suggested that one bottle per inch was the appropriate amount, so I'm like a case and a half short.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SemqaC3UdI

Go-go vocalist and old-school r'n'b dj James Funk made it over to the WPFW 89.3 (and online) studio (now at K and 20th Sts NW) and has been on all day spinning great tunes. I wonder if anyone will make it over there to replace him?

18 " of snow earlier in the day at Dupont Circle, more by now. Plus its getting windy. 30 " out in parts of Virgina

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/top-shelf/2016/01/adams-morgan-dive-bar-mainstay-for-sale-likely-to.html

Millie & Al's possibly for sale for 1.8 million, or maybe not for sale at all?

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/general/2016/01/29/union-arts-to-become-a-boutique-hotel-with-an-arts-program/

zoning hearing tonight

Luke Stewart, who manages Union Arts, says that CulturalDC gave a presentation to the building's tenants about its plans, which he was told will include "seven artists studios that will house up to 20 artists." (CulturalDC spokesperson John Richards says it will have "eight artists' studios that can house up [to] 20+ artists"). Stewart says the building currently houses studios and practice spaces for "between 70 and 100 artists"—far more than what CulturalDC's current plan can accommodate.

Stewart is also worried that CulturalDC's plan for cultivating local arts isn't what's currently happening at Union Arts. CulturalDC says it will "solicit proposals from artists of all disciplines for studio spaces, exhibitions, and programming opportunities, and will engage panels of experts and advisory groups to identify appropriate models and programming for artistic inclusion that will reach a broad range of audiences."

Among other functions, Union Arts serves as a practice space for local musicians—something that's hard to come by in D.C. these days—as well as a cherished DIY venue for hosting concerts. Stewart fears this aspect of Union Arts will be lost in CulturalDC's current plan. "The [studio spaces] not going to be for musicians, they're mainly going to attract craft people," Stewart says, "they're completely tearing out the vibe."

On Monday, the D.C. Zoning Commission will hold a hearing on the future of 411 New York Ave. NE. Union Arts is asking all of its supporters to come out en masse to voice their frustrations on the project and the need for space for community artists in the District.

http://www.washingtonian.com/2016/01/21/20_best_restaurants_in_washington/

Not their "cheap" eats, their "best" ones

1. Fiola Mare, the extravagant Georgetown seafood restaurant.
2. Komi, Johnny Monis and Anne Marler’s Mediterranean-accented tasting-menu destination in Dupont Circle (and last year’s number-one restaurant).
3. Little Serow, Monis and Marler’s Northern/Northeastern Thai dining room.
4. Convivial, Cedric Maupillier’s French-American newcomer in Shaw.
5. Rasika and Rasika West End, the modern Indian dining rooms in Penn Quarter and the West End.
6. Plume, the opulent creative American dining room (with purse stools!) in downtown DC’s Jefferson Hotel.
7. Bad Saint, the tiny Filipino hotspot in Columbia Heights.
8. The Inn at Little Washington, the baroque Rappahannock County destination.
9. Casa Luca, Fabio and Maria Trabocchi’s trattoria in downtown DC.
10. Izakaya Seki, Cizuka and Hiroshi Seki’s spare Japanese place off U Street.
11.The Source, Wolfgang Puck’s recently renovated pan-Asian satellite in Penn Quarter.
12. Masseria, the tasting-menu-only Italian restaurant near Union Market.
13. Garrison, Robert Weland’s farm-to-table newcomer on Barracks Row.
14. Vin 909 Winecafe, the homey small plates and pizza place in Annapolis.
15. Proof, the eclectic wine bar in Penn Quarter.
16. Maketto, the Cambodian/Taiwanese restaurant, coffee bar, and shop on H Street, Northeast.
17. Blue Duck Tavern, the classic American dining room in the Park Hyatt Hotel.
18. Bistro Bis, Jeffrey Buben’s old-school French bastion near the Capitol
19. Central Michel Richard, the playful French/American brasserie in Penn Quarter
20. Marcel’s, Robert Wiedmaier’s quietly formal French restaurant in Foggy Bottom

Rose’s Luxury fell from #3 to #21 (“A once-airtight menu of knockout dishes now yields the occasional dud.”). And the Red Hen dropped from the #7 slot to #39 (“Inconsistencies have cropped up of late.”).

so this just finished its soft open I guess:

http://thesovereigndc.com/

Also, Mule Bone opens next week!

Is Belgian food and beer enough of a reason to make me go to Georgetown....Maybe

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/film/2016/02/12/d-c-film-leaders-want-to-turn-old-goethe-institut-space-into-film-fest-hub/

The location was established as a designated arts space through a 1992 mayoral letter, in accordance with the Support for Art in Public Places Amendment Act of 1986. The issue, Gann says, is that the city’s definition of an arts space is so broad that it includes “culinary arts,” creating the possibility that a restaurant—in an area that's already overpopulated with them—could take over the building.

Right now, Levin and Gann have been in talks with the new owner’s leasing agent, who is open to the idea of dedicating part of the building as an arts space. Their main obstacle: rent prices. The owner wants to lease the space at market value, which would exceed $200,000 annually, a near-impossible figure for Gann and Levin to afford for their intended art rental space.

To meet their budget, the duo has been appealing to local arts groups, and sent a message to the D.C. Council to pressure its members into reserving the location as an arts space. “The city is quick to label an area or say this is a set-aside, but there’s no one in the city to enforce the renovations,” Gann says.

Their plan, if it's able to get fully funded and supported, is to renovate the 120-seat theater on the first floor and convert the upstairs gallery into another 150-seat theater that could also function as a performance space. With that, they hope, the building could house the film and smaller arts festivals that come through D.C. and often struggle to find a space that's affordable and appropriate. Ideally, festivals such as the AFI Docs, the Washington Jewish Film Festival, and Gann’s own DC Shorts festival would all be ideal contenders to use the space.

http://www.districtdig.com/2016/02/10/out-to-pasture/

What will be the future of Barry Farms

http://dcist.com/2016/02/empower_dc_activists_co-opt_bowers.php

Mayor going ahead with St E's site 5,000 seat Arena despite concerns, from multiple angles.

Other than for Mystics games and Wizards practices, how often will this arena get used? The similar capacity DAR Const. Hall does not host that many concerts, and IMP is still scheduled to build a 6,000 seat arena on Maine Ave SW.

A press release about the new facility estimates that it will generate $90 million in tax revenues over 20 years, in part by hosting Mystics WNBA games and an estimated 90 non-basketball events a year.

The total cost for the Congress Heights facility will be $55 million

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2015/09/15/taxes-will-fund-90-percent-of-wizards-practice-site/

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess the facility will cost more than $55 million and the tax revenues and event estimates will fall short of projections.

Yep, and with IMP preparing to build their own 6,000 seat arena in the SW waterfront(will they be asking for tax breaks too), I just do not see many events for either of these proposed arenas (plus DAR and the Patriot Center still do stuff)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/going-out-guide/wp/2016/03/03/a-definitive-guide-to-the-best-cheap-eats-destinations-in-the-d-c-area/

Beltsville, Wheaton and more

Ward 7 Council Candidates Respond To PJ Harvey's New Song

Oh my god

Also so weird to see someone who looks so much like you (from the neck up; she is tiny and I am tall)

I will not dignify this inane composition with a response

Lol britishes, basically

Over on the ILM Capital Swamp thread I noted--I read someone defend PJ, saying that those lyrics were her voicing the views of people she met.

lol the metro

Shutting down for 29 hours...wow. Years worth of safety inspections to do in one day

of course I can walk commute easy enough, but tomorrow's the day I need to get to DCA during evening rush hour. hello 1000x surge pricing.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CdncZhEWEAEwQb8.jpg

Metro buses will be running. When the Pope was in town, many feds telecommuted and traffic was light, but there was more notice for that.

Status: Open with Option for Unscheduled Leave or Unscheduled Telework

Federal agencies in the Washington, DC area are OPEN and employees have the OPTION for UNSCHEDULED LEAVE OR UNSCHEDULED TELEWORK.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/i-gave-a-famous-rock-star-a-windshield-tour-of-dc--and-didnt-know-who-she-was/2016/03/18/8124ab28-e488-11e5-bc08-3e03a5b41910_story.html

Wow, if an afternoon of driving through a place suffices to know it well enough to portray it in song....

I hereby volunteer to drive any and all minor or major alt-rock stars through any DC-area neighborhood they choose. I agree to provide half-baked ill-informed observations of the exotic urban environments that we pass, with the proviso that these observations will be henceforth musically immortalized, preferably on vinyl.

Moving Wizards, Caps to a new arena in RFK stadium area seems like a dumb idea

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/rfk-stadium-site-offered-as-home-for-redskins-or-maybe-wizards-and-capitals/2016/04/01/df0c51c8-f757-11e5-8b23-538270a1ca31_story.html

D.C. officials plan to unveil an array of possibilities for the future of the RFK Stadium property Monday night, among them a new 65,000-seat Redskins stadium and a basketball and hockey venue capable of replacing Verizon Center.

All the proposals include a raft of suggested recreation facilities for a city with a booming population, among them playing fields, a field house, a water park and a sports-and-entertainment complex that officials likened to Chelsea Piers in Manhattan.

Two of the six proposals, outlined by Events DC, the District’s sports-and-entertainment arm, lay out a path for the Redskins to return to the District, though serious obstacles remain should Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and the D.C. Council move to reach a deal with owner Daniel M. Snyder.

Officials also said for the first time that they are considering the 190-acre riverfront property as a possible location for a 20,000-seat arena equipped to serve the Washington Wizards and Capitals.

Does Verizon ctr need replacing? Thought it worked p well actually, and paid for by the teams iirc

No need to do so--the scoreboard screen might not be as big as in some newer arenas but that's all I can see as a problem. They are talking about in the future, and the building will have some wear and tear, but the current location downtown seems more ideal. The late Abe Pollin paid for it, which is more than most sports team owners do (the city later helped out some and gave some breaks, but not as many as the Nats ownership got). Current owner Ted Leonsis seems to be trying to hit up the city for more. He got that that good deal for him but lame deal for city taxpayers on the new Wizards practice space/Mystics arena at St. E's...

This is what they should also be worrying about, after a 29 million investment

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/money-problems-and-no-name-acts-the-howard-theatre-is-struggling-again/2016/04/03/da0e2122-cb71-11e5-ae11-57b6aeab993f_story.html?hpid=hp_local-news2_howardtheatre-1030am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

Fillmore and Hamilton getting some name acts rather than the Howard, plus overpriced food and marketing and security issues all make it hard to pay the bills

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2016/04/13/john-mica-to-metro-leaders-i-am-not-going-to-bail-out-washington-d-c/

Evans pointed to Beijing, Shanghai, Moscow, Paris, and London as cities where the national governments invest majorly in their "world-class" subway systems. "These are all communist countries!" Government Operations Subcommittee Chair Mark Meadows retorted.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/20/realestate/commercial/crystal-city-once-cast-off-by-washington-reboots-itself.html

“Think Brooklyn and Manhattan,” said Mitchell N. Schear, president of Vornado/Charles E. Smith, the dominant property owner and landlord here. “You’re close enough, but you’re not paying higher taxes and utilities. Here, we are a slightly geekier crowd, and we are embracing it.”

Crystal City FAP?

No? Didn't think so.

but more importantly, hi daria-g! Miss you 'round these parts!

hi quincie!! miss you too!

I could do a crystal city FAP, maybe.

prefer Ballston FAP

I just moved next to Braddock Road station and even being that close to Crystal City I don't think I'd bother.