Photo by afagen Remember Monday, when the U.S. House refused to pass a $700 billion bailout package and everyone kinda freaked out? Well a little less than an hour ago they came together for another vote, this time on the Senate's version of the deal, and voted for it. We can't help but feel like the strangest part about the affirmative vote is not actually that it happened, but that even though it probably... [continue]

For those of us who spent our childhood (or adulthood) glued to oldies radio stations, reliving a mythical golden era, Martha Reeves is more than just a household name. Her years with the Vandellas constituted one of the most successful runs during Motown's halcyon days in the mid-'60s. You can't flip on BIG 100.3 FM or go to a wedding these days without hearing "Dancing in the Street" or "(Love is like a) Heat Wave",... [continue]

At the end of the 2007-2008 school year, 21 schools in the DCPS closed for good. During the summer, the city put up a request for proposals for ways to reuse the buildings, and via the Bloomingdale blog, it looks like some of our local arts supporters grabbed on to the opportunity. The newly formed FLUX is a collaboration between the Washington Project for the Arts, Molly and Paul Ruppert of Warehouse, and Artomatic. The... [continue]

Take a look at the three photos below. The first is an image from John McCain's acceptance speech in Minnesota last night. The second is a photo of the building that was hugely projected behind him, which turns out to be Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, CA. Why would McCain have that photo behind him last night? Talking Points Memo smartly speculates that the GOP must have intended to have a photo of... [continue]

Our favorite tight-end-turned-blogger, Chris Cooley, fills us in on some terrible news. Chief Zee, legendary Redskins super fan, was signing autographs at the preseason game against the Buffalo Bills a couple of weeks ago when somebody stole his tomahawk. A foot-long wooden-handled accessory, the tomahawk has belonged to Chief Zee for a quarter century. Chief Zee is a fan that gives a huge part of himself to supporting our city's football team. This petty act,... [continue]

Last year's Planet Arlington World Music Festival >> Local saxophonist Stan Killian performs every Wednesday at Twins Jazz. Call 202-432-0072 for set time and cover information. >> There's a lot of world music happening this week. On Thursday, Serbian artist Bilja Krstic leads the Bistrik Orchestra at the Millennium Stage. Krstic is a pop star in her native land and the ensemble blends blends traditional music, a cappella songs, and ethno grooves. 6 p.m.... [continue]

Here's the music video that played right before Eleanor Holmes Norton was introduced at the DNC. The go-go style song, "Demand the Vote", was commissioned by DC Vote and written by D.C. musician Joe L. Da Vessel and the band Melodic. The video was directed by Warren Wesley at G-light Films.... [continue]

Abraham Lincoln took a stroll along downtown Denver's 16th Street Mall today, encouraging passersby to sign a petition to support congressional representation for the District of Columbia. 'Honest Abe' was really Eli Zigas, program associate for voting rights group DC Vote. Flanked by seven or eight volunteers for the non-profit who made the trek to Denver to help canvass the city during the Democratic National Convention, Zigas got a lot of attention due to his... [continue]

We all know the adage “all good things must come to an end.” But when it comes to Hook Restaurant we didn’t realize how quickly the “end” would arrive. Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but by now we’re all aware that the restaurant has hit a major bump in the road with the sudden departure of its founding chef, Barton Seaver as well as the recent departure of Chef Joshua Whigham. It seems... [continue]

Because it's August and there's no new local news, we thought we'd take a moment to turn back the clock and look at a big day in our city's history. On August 25, 1814, the War of 1812 took a turn in the newly-minted nation's capital, when troops set fire to Washington, D.C. The war started when the British Empire restricted U.S. trade with France (who Britain was also at odds with). Being the... [continue]

It looked pretty good there for a while. After dumping the dead weight that was Felipe Lopez, Paul Lo Duca, and Johnny Estrada, the re-invigorated Nationals promptly went 6-1, and were fun to watch. Unfortunately, the schedule then put the AAAA Nationals against good Major League baseball teams. This led to their current seven game losing streak, and continued position at the bottom of the Major League. The Nationals remain steadfast in their refusal to... [continue]

We've been following the case of Collin McKenzie-Gude, 18, of Bethesda since his arrest last week on charges of making and exploding pipe bombs and illegally possessing firearms. At first glance, the circumstantial evidence that's been piling up paints a pretty weird picture. Here's what's happened so far: On Tuesday, July 29, Montgomery County investigators acted on a tip from a concerned citizen and searched the Gude family home on the 6300 block of Rockhurst... [continue]

Rumors have been circulating for the last month, and today promising local band Georgie James made it official by posting a notice on their web site that the band is breaking up. After three years, Georgie James is calling it a day. We're proud of the album we made and everything else that we were able to do during our time together. We are both working on our respective solo projects (John's can be found... [continue]

>> Project 4 presents to you the childhood of Gina Tibott. She dug up the backyard of the home she grew up in, for a (gruesome?) rediscovery of her deceased pets. Using her archeology training, she carefully retrieved the bones and proceeded to photograph this lost culture. No opening reception, so see the remnants for yourself at during regular gallery hours, Wed. - Fri. 2 - 6 p.m., Sat. 12 - 6 p.m. and... [continue]

With the Nationals firmly entrenched at the bottom of the Major Leagues and the Redskins getting ready to start the season with a new head coach, another new offensive system, and a smattering of injuries, it is tough to get excited about Washington area sports right now. Given that the Redskins are 70-79 since Dan Snyder purchased the team in 1999, and the Nationals are 150-204 since the Lerners took the helm, it is easy... [continue]

Dr. No has struck again. Yesterday the Senate was unable to pass a legislative package of 35 programs worth $10 billion that had been held up by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Ok.). The package -- known as the "Tomnibus" bill -- included $1.5 billion for Metro that Coburn deemed wasteful because his constituents are too poor to come to Washington (no, seriously). But Democrats couldn't convince enough Republicans to join them to push the measure through,... [continue]

WMATA issued a strongly worded response today to an Examiner editorial that the agency said falsely accuses Metro employees of being involved in the farecard scam that resulted in the arrests of six individuals on Friday. Here's what the Examiner editorial board wrote: Metro personnel in the police, technology and financial offices — who are supposed to be monitoring such transactions — may have been involved, since counterfeiting magnetized farecards is a bit more complicated... [continue]

The Politico is reporting that conservative commentator Robert Novak -- known variably as the "Prince of Darkness" or the "Douchebag of Liberty" -- was cited for hitting a pedestrian with his Corvette in downtown Washington today:A Politico reporter saw Novak in the front of a police car with a citation in his hand; a WJLA-TV crew and reporter saw Novak as well. The pedestrian was hospitalized but there were no details about the person’s condition.... [continue]

What we love about this one is imagining the police department meeting that led to this sting. Surely it went something like this: "Dude, I am so totally bored. I haven't arrested anyone in like, three days. Who can we arrest?" "Uhh. Well hey, you know who really likes doing drugs? Jam band fans!" "Perfect. This will be easier than busting a high school party for underage drinking. Let's roll."... [continue]

A year ago, we geeked out over the possibility that Google Maps would soon include its Street View feature in D.C. area maps. Google has indeed collected Street View imagery for Washington, DC, but still no launch date has been announced for the feature. In the meantime, we've got something a little cooler – or at least something with a comparable "gee whiz, that's neat" factor – to tide us over. On Tuesday, Google announced... [continue]