Results tagged “weekend”

Leaves have fallen and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. You know what that means -- turkey! Also, it's time to get back to the hardwood. Welcome to the first edition of The Hi-Lo, DCist's new roundup of the week that was in DMV college hoops.

This Self-Centered Sunday business redounds to everyone's benefit when someone like caroline.angelo composes such a bright portrait. The ocher color of the wall looks like it was chosen to match the freckles on the subject's arms. Further, the brightly lit section of the wall contrasts with the olive of her headband in a way that's almost difficult -- the eye strains to perceive them as a similar hue. Of course, obscuring the face is a notorious strategy in contemporary portraiture, and in this shot, caroline.angelo captures a lot of fun despite not revealing the subject's eyes.

Walking to The Passenger last night, my mind drifted toward thoughts about the development of the area north of H Street along 7th Street NW. Perhaps it was destiny, then, that I stumbled over this photograph of Mt. Vernon Square taken in 1992 by Jack Boucher for the Historic American Buildings Survey of the Library of Congress, which DCist flickr contributor rockcreek shared with our image pool yesterday. It's a good reminder of how far the neighbohood has come in the last seventeen years.

Should the District's early-out/easy-out retirement payments be considered a "bonus"? This is the debate in the latest chapter of the overarching tiff between the Fenty administration and the D.C. Council. The Examiner's Michael Neibauer reports today that four District employees have been denied such exit payments by the Department of Human Resources, after the Council approved a 2010 budget which outlaws all "bonuses and special payments" to District employees.

It didn't take much to turn Redskins fans' frowns into smiles: a fake field goal throw for a touchdown, an injury to starting Denver starting QB Kyle Orton, and, finally, a win over a halfway decent team to celebrate. The future still looks bleak, but yes, the Redskins are now 3-6 after last week's 27-17 home win against the Broncos. Redskins fans seemed to hold their heads high this week, knowing that this team -- perhaps definitively -- is not the worst in football. We might even get to enjoy another win or two before the season's over!

As you might expect, there is not all that much to hear this week, with the Thanksgiving holiday and all. But you can give thanks for the chance to hear a few good concerts.

Even between the DPW fiasco, the WTOP/biking police escort kerfuffle, not being Superman, facing vital questions about crime, handling a significant legal tussle regarding policing strategies, dealing with his "all-purpose scandal-in-a-box" Sinclair Skinner, recognizing his struggles with the D.C. lottery contract, trying to rebuild OCTO after its bribery scandal, navigating the significant labor strife among teachers in our public schools, and drawing the general ire of the entire D.C. Council, it could always be worse for Adrian Fenty. After all, he could be Baltimore's Sheila Dixon, who finds herself balancing a busy Mayoral schedule with being a defendant on theft charges which could force her to leave the office. (Sorry, Baltimore, we're just looking for some perspective here.) Also on the bright side? Fenty's upcoming 39th birthday bash will feature a "a large cache of Wine, Beer & Soft Drinks." So he's got that going for him, which is nice.

Olsen's career had plenty of highlights, despite the fact that recurring ankle troubles -- the most serious of which occurred while Olsen was on loan at Nottingham Forest in 2000 -- cost him a considerably unfair portion of his prime, especially on the international stage. United fans certainly have plenty of memories to look back fondly on from his time in the Black-and-Red: his hat trick at RFK against New York in 2007, his man of the match performance in the 1999 MLS Cup final, or even his equalizer against New England early this year. Personally, my favorite memory of Ben Olsen was on a sweltering hot day in June 2008, when Olsen -- in but 15 minutes, his only action that season -- received an overwhelming reception from the nearly 36,000 fans who had come to the stadium that day to jeer David Beckham.

. Holy hell, but this picture is horrible.

An independent report commissioned by DC Appleseed and the Brookings Institution has concluded that it is "critical to the success and sustainability of" the new Community College of the District of Columbia to sever ties with the University of the District of Columbia. UDC, which has always had plenty of problems balancing the hefty costs of a four-year university and its open-enrollment-assisted reputation as a two-year college, split focus in August into the University and the Community College. Both operations still operate under UDC's administration.

Good morning, Washington. The Brookland-CUA Metrorail station was closed for about ninety minutes last night after another person intentionally placed themselves on the tracks in front of an oncoming train. Last night's incident pushes the number of suicides in Metrorail stations this year into double digits. WMATA says that at about 9:18 p.m., a man who had gone on to the tracks was struck by a Red Line train heading in the direction of Shady Grove, dying of his injuries. Trains were single tracking through the station for some time last night, but the area is now clear -- aside from the weekend's planned track work, of course.

More disturbing information is rising to the surface in the wake of last night's awful murder of a child on Columbia Road NW. The Washington Post is now reporting that the victim was indeed a nine-year-old boy, killed while trying to flee from an attempted robbery. Shots were fired through the door of the boy's apartment, as the family rushed inside to escape. Some truly terrifying stuff. Three people were questioned last night by police, but no arrests have been made. Anyone with any information about the crime is asked to contact MPD at 202-727-9099.

On offense, the Redskins have -- or had -- a small handful of players that other teams might be interested in, at least before this debacle of a season unfolded. They are -- or were -- as follows: Chris Samuels, Chris Cooley, Randy Thomas, Santana Moss, and perhaps Clinton Portis. Of those five, only Moss will play today, cementing an already depleted and inept d'oh!-ffense as a complete non-threat. And, oh yeah, the league's third-best scoring defense in the Denver Broncos comes to town today, feeling a little desperate as they try to break a two-game slide. Denver 26, Washington 10.

This is a good week for hearing some great pianists in the area, and of all stripes and colors, too. Some good options for free concerts are listed after the jump.

No really, look up! Those are the Leonids streaking through the sky (they began on November 10). This meteor shower often gives one of the best shows of the year, on rare occasions being so spectacular that it surpasses being just a shower and becomes a "meteor storm," with over 1000 meteors per hour. We won't get quite that amazing a sight this year, but the debris from comet Tempel-Tuttle should still send about 500 pieces an hour through the atmosphere -- and with the peak arriving on Tuesday night and a barely visible waxing Moon to darken the sky, the Leonids will still be an astronomical show worth staying outside in the cold for (perhaps with your camera?).

UPDATE: According to MPD Commander George Kucik, a young child was shot and killed shortly after 9:30 p.m. tonight at an apartment on the 1400 block of Columbia Road NW. WUSA9 is reporting that the victim was a seven-year-old boy, but other outlets are reporting that the victim was a nine-year-old. WJLA/ABC7 is also reporting that the shooting occurred as family members were walking back from a party. The group was approached by a man with a gun, who, after a short chase, reportedly shot the child in the back. Detectives are currently investigating and anyone with information is asked to call 202-727-9099.

Noted graphic designer Ken Carbone used his space at Fast Company earlier this week to address the National Football League's ugliest helmets, of which there are plenty. (Helloooooo, Tampa Bay!) As someone with an amateur hobby of monitoring professional and major collegiate sports uniforms -- for instance: have you seen these new Nike college football unis, apparently left to us from a race of super-intelligent hypergalactic beings? -- this editor believes Carbone hit a lot of the right notes. The best helmets in the NFL do belong to teams which have a natural symmetry in the logo (Eagles, Rams, Vikings), or teams who stick with classic, clean insignias and color schemes (Cowboys, Bengals, Browns -- and although Carbone forgot them, the Packers).

So says the AP, adding that currently, those in wheelchairs are out of luck when it comes to finding a cab within the confines of the District, taking their chances (and what I'm sure is a sizable hit to their wallets) by calling suburban cab companies who have appropriately-outfitted taxis to come pick them up. By January, a full fleet of 20 Toyota minivans will be deployed by D.C. taxi cab concerns as part of a $1.2 million pilot program. This is great and all; but while it may be a bit naive on the part of yours truly, this news should probably be filed under "just what the hell took so long to implement this?" Of course, this being D.C., we're really going to have to work hard to find some free space in that particular file drawer.

No disrespect meant to Governor Tim Kaine, whom I'm sure is a competent storm chaser, but are there seriously not more qualified people in the Commonwealth of Virginia to do this sort of thing? While I'm certain that a helicopter tour of the state would have given Kaine a better impression of the damage done in Hampton Roads by storms, that helicopter tour might have informed any number of state employees who are 1) not the governor and 2) trained in insurance adjustment or aid deployment or whatever field is involved with checking out storm damage from the air.

Escher, yes, but also something more sinister. These photos of the U.S. Treasury by Flickr user mindgutter reveal a more playful angle to the work of Robert Mills, America's first great architect. You might know him better as the designer of the Old Patent Office Building (now home to the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum) as well as a couple Washington Monuments.

When it comes to deciphering news about Metro -- or pretty much of anything in this crazy town -- I've found that it helps to simply boil things down to real-life versions of popular Simpsons gags. (But, you know, nothing after season eight.) Take, for instance, this morning's Washington Post report about a kinda-sorta shake-up involving WMATA safety chief Alexa Dupigny-Samuels, which is a lot more digestible through the lens of a classic bit from "Treehouse of Horror III." Observe:

Good morning, D.C. Are we finally on the edge of ridding ourselves of this week's miserable weather? Clouds are lingering today, but tomorrow's weather looks like it will do a whole lot to erase the last few days of rain, cold, and the general atmosphere of lethargy. There's plenty of 60s forecasted for our future, Washington. And while the last few days haven't been pleasant, it could always be worse -- at least we're not desperately piling sandbags to prevent a nor'easter from pulling our homes into the Chesapeake.

Someone has placed a Star-Spangled GIF in front of kimberlyfaye's photo of the Old Executive Office Building -- lulz! But why does it not animate? Why do you not wave freely? Why no fireworks, little American Flag? Where does your eagle soar? I don't know what I'm talking about.

If two sex shops are able to remain open in the relatively small Old Town Alexandria commercial district, someone must enjoy patronizing them. Yet Alexandria city planners proposed to ban further sex shops from opening in the historic district, according to ABC7. That decision that would have grandfathered in Le Tache but forced the more recently opened Lotus Blooms to close. Both stores are located on King Street. (Those links are potentially NSFW, especially if you work in Old Town Alexandria.)

This time last year, the Washington Redskins were fresh off an election-eve home beatdown by the Super Bowl champs–elect, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in a game noted for the stunning prevalence of Steelers fans at FedEx Field. A little past the halfway mark of the season, that game officially kicked off the team's late-season demise, where they'd go 2-6 and labor to put up points in virtually every game. The offensive line looked slow, tired, and hurting, and so did Clinton Portis -- whom we all hoped only looked like that because he was behind that slow, tired, and hurting o-line. The defense, for the most part, manfully willed the team into games before the offensive ineptitude just became too great a burden to bear.

           

Every so often a songwriter emerges who captures something about the city he calls home. Elliot Smith was as Portland as fixies and strollers. There is something free and unmistakably flyover about Omaha, Nebraska's Conor Oberst. Kurt Vile -- who finished a tour to support his latest record (and first release on Matador Records), , at the Black Cat on Thursday -- is making his claim as a lo-fi laureate of Philadelphia.

The Dremo never dies, so long as people long to play flip-cup and watch weird movies in an eclectic taphouse -- assuming there's money for it. Home of the Night of 101 Elvises and the much-missed Psychotronic film series, Dr. Dremo's is looking at a new home. According to an email from manager Andrew Stewart, the backers behind the former Arlington landmark seek to raise $200,000 to build out a location in Clarendon. It's unclear whether the good doctor has found a venue in Clarendon or simply means to keep with the original ambition to find a new home there. Any angel investors out there with a love for Dremo's Redneck Ale? The bar needs $10K minimum, to be paid back over 2 years for 10% annual percentage rate. For my part, I can pledge to spend that much in the form of a tab over 2 years.

WUSA9 has it that parents and kids waited hours to get the H1N1 vaccine in Cheverly, MD. Yet the Washington Business Journal reports that 55% of Washington-area adults don't plan to inoculate, nothing that a full "one-third of parents with children living at home do not plan on getting the vaccine this year."

Here philliefan99 has captured this tribute to the Fort Hood shooting incident, whose local connection the Washington Post explored yesterday. NBC Washington further notes that Maj. L. Eduardo Caraveo, among the victims in the shooting, was a Woodbridge, VA, native. President Barack Obama (pictured here, kind of) ordered that flags fly at half-mast staff until Veterans' Day, calling the shootings "crimes against our nation."

Mornin', Washington. Hope you're awake, because Montgomery County needs your help.