There's a lot of fun things to do around D.C. when the weather is warm. You can go swimming, walk around the mall, hit a farmer's market, go to Great Falls. There's beer, and cookouts, and sports. And other things we haven't even though of. Overheard of the Week: In the 7-Eleven on Fenton Lane in Silver Spring: A bearded homeless man walks into the 7-Eleven, holds up a piece of posterboard featuring columns upon... [continue]

We've been hearing about ArtSpace in Shaw for some time, and on August 13 we stopped by during one of their open studios, which go on every Monday. The nonprofit offers classes and studio time to local adults. Located in the basement of the New Community Church at 614 S Street NW, ArtSpace has one full time staffer, Kristian Whipple, and is largely volunteer driven. Whipple and volunteers offer numerous classes (pottery, drawing, photography, weaving,... [continue]

It's getting closer and closer to election time, which means a fair percentage of D.C. area folks pay less attention to sports, music, grooming, and the small stuff like that. People are no longer talking about 14-year old gymnasts, but what the senator said last night, or how that one attorney general guy looks like Joe Biden. And it'll be this way next week too. At least there are some entrepreneurs out there to take... [continue]

People say a lot of weird stuff about health, their bodies, and so on. And it's nice for grandmas to be concerned about their kiddos, but there's been a lot in the news about over-medicating kids for ADD or what have you. Just because a kid behaves badly and likes certain foods that most kids like, it doesn't mean he has a disease. If the latter is true, get me to a doctor. Overheard of... [continue]

Over the last few days, MPD officers have been spotted standing at the corner of 14th and Irving Streets NW ticketing people for jaywalking. We saw them at about 5 p.m. yesterday and received emails saying they were out on Wednesday as well. One bystander said she saw police stop one guy crossing against the light when no cars were around: "he had his headphones on and was crossing the street and the cop chased... [continue]

We've talked about D.C.'s walkability before a bit, but have yet to delve into the implications of the online tool at Walkscore.com, which rates the walkability of cities and neighborhoods around the country. Walkscore launched in late May, and many other local bloggers noted the site then. The online tool allows you to plug in your own address in order to receive a "walkability score" based on the closeness of amenities like grocery stores, bars... [continue]

Sometimes a word takes D.C., and for that matter the country, by storm. It fits so well, points out a specific, annoying thing, and is fun to say. Sometimes, however, people use words without knowing what they mean. Overheard of the Week Near Eastern Market: Two girls (maybe 8 and 12) are walking with their family. Younger Sister: "I kind of know what it is, but I'm not totally sure what it means because it's... [continue]

Earlier in the week, we reported that bike-sharing operation SmartBike DC was finally operating, but with a few sites still under construction — Judiciary Square, Metro Center, and McPherson Square. Today we walked by the Judiciary Square rack on 4th Street NW between D and E, and it's ready, bikes and all. In case you wanted to ride from, say, the Albert Pike statue to somewhere. Or, less fun, you have to go to court.... [continue]

Maybe Washingtonians (or just me) are cruel, but sometimes befuddled tourists are hilarious. Standing around scratching their heads, looking at a map, asking dumb questions, and the like. Sure, it's cliche, but sometimes it is awesome. And kind of sad. Overheard of the Week: At the Rosslyn Metro at 8:30 a.m. during morning rush hour: Tourist family crams into a very crowded Metro car as the doors close. Mom: "Wow, we actually made it! Wait,... [continue]

Relationships are hard. They're fun, they're weird, they're sometimes awful. For some reason, a bunch of overheards recently deal with male-female relationships. Maybe it's the birds and the bees, or the ridiculously hot weather and humidity just do something to people. Not always good somethings, though. Overheard of the Week Walking through Dupont Circle: Young female professional talking very loudly on her cell: "I can't believe you are seeing someone who beats people with a... [continue]

Sometimes overhearing things is funny because what we overhear fits some stereotype, or something we always believed — the ignorant tourist, annoying intern, etc. Sometimes they're funny because they reveal some secret, sinister thing the person didn't want to reveal. And sometimes they're good because they're just completely bizarro. Dance contest! Overheard of the Week At Rice (14th & Q NW): Group of 3 girls at dinner talking. Girl #1: "You should do the ovary... [continue]

UPDATE: While we earlier heard it was all day, Papa John's employees are saying the deal ended at 4 p.m. Sorry! But at least there's a closer pizza joint for those folks in Shaw, downtown, and Mt. Vernon Triangle. What's better than hot pizza on a hot, hot day? Well, maybe it's ice cream or water ice, but hey, the pizza is free! A new Papa John's location near 4th and Mass NW just opened,... [continue]

People love the newest gadgets. It was the Walkman back in the day, then the iPod, the Wii, and lately, the various iterations of the iPhone, with locals swamping Apple stores from Clarendon to ... wherever other Apple stores are. You see them all over the Metro, at bars, and hopefully not while driving. The newest generation of smartphones have all the bells and whistles, a Swiss army knife of communications. There's just one problem.... [continue]

D.C. as a city is the victim of a lot of stereotypes — the murder capital, crackhead mayor, bad baseball team. One of those is true, but there are at least a handful of other U.S. cities with worse murder rates than us these days, and the worst thing people have dug up about Adrian Fenty is that he appeared in an ad promoting the District wearing his parents' store's logo on his shirt. Not... [continue]

Crooked Beat Records on 18th Street in Adams Morgan had some bad luck this past week, flooding numerous times. In an email last night, owner Bill Daly said these were the 21st and 22nd water-related problems they've had at the location since 2002. Daly said they're still open and have no plans to close, but have had enough of the flooding and are now looking for a new location. If anyone knows of a retail... [continue]

What is it about Bergen, Norway? The city of 250,000 is the home to numerous bands, including Kings of Convenience, Annie, Röyksopp, Sondre Lerche, and Datarock. The latter, a group of red jumpsuited goofballs, played Saturday at the Rock and Roll Hotel and did not disappoint. Half electronic, half guitar, the duo (which expands to a quartet on tour) lifts from ecclectic places, like the musical Grease ("Computer Camp Love"), Factory Records' funkier stuff ("Fa... [continue]

D.C. is a city of archetypes. There's the Hill staffer, the bigshot douchebag, the crackhead, the intern, the yuppie, the tourist. They all came together this week in a melange of stereotypes and stupidity. But not before discovering the newest trend: coming soon to a hip desk near you: vintage office supplies. Overheard of the Week: Three State Department interns at McDonalds during lunch rush: Girl 1: "So I'm supposed to go through her Rolodex... [continue]

Silver Spring's new Fillmore music hall will be getting an $800,000 tax break over ten years under a law proposed by Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett. The proposed measure applies to the county's arts districts in Wheaton, Silver Spring, and Bethesda, and a county memo says the only projects eligible for the tax break would be the Fillmore and any condos units in a Bethesda building, the Trillium, that are occupied by "certified" artists or... [continue]

Seems like the hot weather has brought out the awkwardness and passive aggressiveness in people. Then again, this is D.C., so those characteristics are never hard to find. But it's still fun to hear people putting their feet in their mouths more than usual, for our amusement. Overheard of the Week: At the Columbia Heights Target: A 20-something couple are in the closet and storage section. She points to some hideaway bins. Woman, sweetly and... [continue]

The F Yeah Tour began as a music, comedy, and arts fest held in L.A. every summer, and this year it's going on tour, on a bus run by vegetable oil. Seven bands, mostly sharing a cut-and-paste DIY sensibility, played at the Black Cat last night: DCist fave Dan Deacon, Matt and Kim, The Death Set, Team Robespierre, Monotonix, Mannequin Men, and comedian Josh Fadem. The event also featured a table with voter registration, information... [continue]