Miscellaneous: November 2009 Archives

MTV has posted the first trailer for The Real World DC on its web site. It includes a number of establishing shots of our fair city (including, inexplicably, an intro featuring President Barack Obama exiting Marine One to the tune of the Civil War-era song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," aka "The Ants Go Marching," ... maybe the producers confused it with "Hail to the Chief"?), and there are a couple of fun scenes showing off the D.C. locale: one of the cast members meeting Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), another playing around in the White House briefing room, that kind of thing. But most of the storylines that are teased are pretty much standard Real World fare: hook-ups, young people unsure of who they are or what they'll do with their lives, and of course, girls running around with their tops off.

President Barack Obama pardoned his first White House turkey, Courage, a little while ago. The White House has since released video of the ceremony (see below), during which Obama called Courage "a good looking bird." The president was in a joking mood, noting that "there are days when I'm reminded why I ran for this office ... and then there are days like this, when you pardon a turkey and send it Disneyland."

The first paragraph of Reed Albergotti's Wall Street Journal story today about the decline in popularity of the Washington Redskins tells you pretty much all you need to know about what he thinks, at least of our city.

In a town drawn up by a Frenchman, a place brimming with people who hail from somewhere else and who don't agree about much of anything, the Washington Redskins managed to attain something any professional sports franchise would kill for: a giant fan base that loved them unconditionally.

Always nice to see that there's still some reporters who haven't hopped on the post-Obama "D.C. is great!" bandwagon.

• The Silver Spring Penguin covers the annual Silver Spring Thanksgiving parade, complete with local politico spotting.
• NPR's Carl Kasell to retire at the end of the year, Fishbowl DC reports. 'He will continue his second role as official judge and scorekeeper of the weekly NPR news quiz "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!",' though.
• WashTimes runs optimistic article about Howard Theatre renovations, despite reality reported therein: they've only raised $1.6 million of the estimated $22 million needed to get it done.

The AP picked up on Gilbert's latest antics, as did Dan Steinberg, who interviewed teammates about the quest, eliciting an eye-rolling response from Brendan Haywood. Teammate JeVale McGee helped Gil get the word out -- but we only mention that because his Twitter name is BigDaddyWookie.

• Gothamist was saddened after seeing why Sad Panda is so so sad.
• DCist caught up with the dapper gents and ladies who took to the streets in high style for the D.C. Tweed Ride.
• Torontoist Googled its city. Googled it hard.

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.

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!

It can be fun to think about things you'd like in an ideal mate. But sometimes, things sound better than they actually are.

• BREAKING now: an arrest has been made in the Nov. 7 slaying of liquor store owner Rufina Hernandez, D.C. police are saying. More on this to come after a 7:30 p.m. news conference. [WJLA/ABC7]
• The U.S. Postal service has declared its own War on Christmas: they are dropping the popular national program where volunteers in North Pole, Alaska open and respond to letters addressed to Santa. The decision comes amid fears of the possibility of pedophile infiltration in the program. [AP via NPR]
• Charlene Lugar, the wife of Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) was arrested last night by the Fairfax County Police Department for driving while intoxicated and a hit-and-run. Looks like she hit a parked car. No one was injured. [USAToday]

Gotta concur with DCmud's sarcasm in reporting this piece of news concerning an expected ribbon cutting next year for a new Whole Foods at the Shops at Wisconsin Place development, located at the Chevy Chase/Friendship Heights nexus.

While the Bethesda-Chevy Chase corridor may seem like a scripted stage setting for the Whole Foods phenomenon, Chevy Chasers have until now had to drive all the way down to Tenley for their organic Gruyere, or eke by (gasp) on Giant or TJ's foodstuffs.

Ruth Samuelson made a handy little map over at Housing Complex to illustrate the point: this actually makes the third Whole Foods location on Wisconsin Avenue, all clustered relatively close to one another. Surely some other neighborhood, like say, Capitol Hill, could use a spot to buy organic arugula sooner than this one. Then again, my feelings on the "Fetishism of Whole Foods" are well established, so it's probably wise not to get too worked up about it.

Last month, we launched our first collaboration with the Washington Humane Society and highlighted a handful of dogs that needed to find a home. The WHS's goal to "increase adoption, decrease the number of animals in need, and teach responsible pet ownership" is one that we truly believe in, and we're happy to report that two of the dogs we featured in October, Tancho and Nina, found homes!! Nina's new owner saw our photos and knew that she was the right dog for their family. She now lives with a family of five, two young children, two adults and another pit bull who is Nina's new best friend. Sumi, the beautiful and smart Akita mix is still at the shelter waiting to be sprung. Kate was diagnosed with heart worms and has been moved to the Washington Animal Rescue League to recover. She will be up for adoption again once she gets better.

Good morning, D.C. With Thanksgiving now just a week away, the local media are breaking out the chestnuts: yep, you guessed it, it's time to start panicking about holiday travel. The first thing you do when you want to freak out about getting home for Thanksgiving is call the AAA spokesperson. That guy is always going to give you a great, terrifying quote about how bad traffic is gonna be this year. So after checking all the local news outlets on this one, what are we to conclude? Traveling next week is going to be annoying, just like every year. But if you're interested in the specific predictions, it looks like train and automobile travel might be up slightly over last year, while air travel may go down a bit. Good luck to you all!

• D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray appeared on News Channel 8's NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt this afternoon to respond to some of the ethics questions raised in two different news stories today.
• Voting rights activist Nikolas Schiller got asked to remove his tri-cornered hat, part of his standard Colonial costume garb at pro-D.C. events, at today's Congressional hearing on District autonomy, WAMU reports.
• Via We Love DC, looks like Top Chef's Richard Blais plans to bring his Flip Burger concept to D.C.'s Chinatown.

• Washington Blade staffers plan to put out some kind of issue of the newspaper on Friday, Paul Schwartzman reports in WaPo. He also notes that two prospective publishers offered earlier this year to buy the Blade. See Erik Wemple's reporting on the scorned potential Blade buyers for more on that.
• Looks like Ovie's going to be back on the ice tonight, according to NHL.com.
• Prince George's County police made a gruesome discovery this morning: they found a body in a trash compactor, WaPo reports, and are investigating.

• WTTG/FOX5's Will Thomas got mugged in Georgetown last week, Reliable Source reports. 'No injuries, but "as you can imagine, I'm still a bit shaken up,"' he told them.
• Jim Graham is collecting donations for the family of Oscar Fuentes, says PoP.
• New Columbia Heights breathlessly awaits the opening of the new Chipotle, now slated for on or about Dec. 10.

Seattlest reminded us that we don't watch Mariners baseball for the game, we watch it for the player-on-player bromance.

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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.

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?).

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:

The following post is from our advertiser, Focus Features. Pirate Radio is the newest ensemble comedy from filmmaker Richard Curtis (screenwriter of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, and writer/director of Love Actually). This high-spirited film tells the story of 8 DJs whose love affair with Rock n Roll changed the world forever. In the 1960s a group of rogue DJs, on a boat in the middle of the Northern Atlantic, played rock records and broke the law all for the love of music. The songs they played united and defined an entire generation and drove the British government crazy. The band of rebels is lead by The Count, played by Academy Award Winner Philip Seymour Hoffman. Pirate Radio also stars Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, Kenneth Branagh, and Tom Sturridge, and features an unbelievable selection of music including The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, Cream, and The Beach Boys, just to name a few. Pirate Radio in theatres now!

Generally when we hear about turf wars, it's something to do with law enforcement, intelligence or the military, or maybe something related to finance. Usually turf wars are fought in courtrooms, hearing rooms, Congressional chambers, and rule-making sessions. Usually.

• A man from Togo attacked several employees at the Embassy of Togo with a knife today, WTTG-FOX5 reports. The employees and the suspect were treated for minor cuts.
• Police have ID'd the bicyclist who was killed Saturday when he was struck by a Bladensburg police officer driving an official police vehicle: he was Rene Osmin Pineda-Paredas, 25, of the 5000 block of Tilden Road, via the Washington Post.
• 14th and You reports that Garden District has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, "leaving it's future on 14th Street cloudy."

• Rock throwing is back in the headlines this evening. WJLA finds rocks flying in Southeast.
• Silver Spring, Singular reports that the American Apparel had its window busted again.
• Congratulations, University of Maryland students, you may continue to enjoy your pornography of choice.

Arriving in D.C. today is Chris Cuddihy, a multiple marathon runner (and, full disclosure, a friend from my hometown) who set out Saturday to run from New York City to D.C. in order to raise money and awareness for Wounded Warriors, a group that provides services and programs to help the most seriously wounded returning soldiers and their families.

• It's difficult to think of a convoluted scare story more tailor-made for local TV news than this one. If only the virus also killed your household pets and caused traffic delays that contributed to the delinquency of your teenage daughter.
• D.C. is finally getting wheelchair-accessible taxis this month, via WaPo. Long, long overdue.
• The headline says it all: "Diapers on the street -- Not cool."

• This seemed inevitable: DCPS CFO Noah Wepman was fired on Friday, according to sources. Wepman was made to look a fool by the D.C. Council after they grilled him at a hearing on the recent D.C. Schools RIFs, to the point where he admitted withholding budget numbers from the legislative body. [WTOP]
• A bicyclist was struck and killed Saturday morning by a Bladensburg police officer, authorities only announce today. "The cyclist, who police have not identified, was pulling onto Annapolis Road from the Bladen Plaza Shopping Center about 2 a.m. when he crossed the path of a Bladensburg police officer headed west, police said. The front right section of the cruiser hit the cyclist, and he was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, police said." [WaPo]
• Potential new owners for the Maples, a historic mansion on Capitol Hill, weren't able to put together the funds they needed in time to make the purchase, and now PETA is looking at the property. [The Hill is Home]

Seattlest talked about gay marriage, performing, and the sexiness of the Pacific Northwest with Rufus Wainwright.

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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.

There's a lot of weird things in the world: Snuggies, hairless cats, Glenn Beck's Christmas book for kids, for example. And some things just defy explanation.

• If you're commuting by car to Montgomery County this evening, you might want to come up with some other plan, or wait until much later. The county's traffic lights still aren't timed right after a malfunction this morning.
• Area corporate executive denied first class seating on United Airlines because he was wearing a track suit. WTTG/FOX5 investigates!
• Jean Cryor, commissioner of the Montgomery County Planning Board, has died at the age of 70, AP reports.

• Ward 8 unemployment remains one of the highest rates in the country, clocking in at a shocking 28.3 percent in September, the Washington Business Journal reports.
• City Desk publishes emails that show there are some serious questions about the integrity of the investigation into the Georgetown Library fire.
• Local org Noah's Ark Food Bank says it was kicked out of its home after city inspectors threatened the Southeast D.C. church where its located with code violations and fines, WJLA reports.

• There was an actual fist fight in the Washington Post newsroom on Friday, between Style editor Henry Allen and feature writer Manuel Roig-Franzia, and everyone was racing to get the story today. Washingtonian, City Desk and Fishbowl DC all provide blow-by-blow coverage.
• "D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and his economic development team must provide real estate documents to Deborah Nichols, the D.C. auditor, according to an Oct. 30 ruling by D.C. Superior Court Judge Eugene Hamilton." [Washington Business Journal]
• Cate Blanchett, in town performing in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Kennedy Center, was spotted at the Columbia Heights Target over the weekend. [New Columbia Heights]

Gothamist learned that Vespa owners are resorting to illegal measures (okay, scraping off their vehicle ID numbers) to keep their scooters on the street, not that it'll help.

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