Results tagged “weekend”

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.

Yours truly has a love-hate relationship with junk food. But so do you, dear reader: one of the most popular posts in this here site's five-year plus history was Andrew Wiseman's thoughts on the fast food joints that the nation's capital misses out on.

The Georgetown University Department of Public Safety has the details on the second bias-related assault in the last few days near the school. Early this morning, a Georgetown student was attacked by an unknown male near 36th and N Streets NW. According to the public safety alert:

              

I think two things about making a gallery of pictures of jack-o'-lanterns. One: This is exactly the sort of task I'm up to on a November 1. I tend to enjoy my sweets in the four of bourbon for Halloween, and as a result November 1 is a hangover to rival January 1. In stumbling around the house groaning for advil and wondering how I stubbed my presently lame big toe, I present a more convincing zombie than any you saw in Georgetown last night. Two: Something about taking pictures of pumpkins makes people go nuts with the photoshop. How is it that photos of orange gourds look so green?

Here is a photo that manages to summon both Vince Gauraldi and Cecily Brown. This fall flickr by apium is full of flesh tones that draw the eye, but it's far from sexy. For all the skin color and movement, this picture still conveys the quiet transformation of autumn.

Last year, we had a laugh or two about the signs that Maryland required registered sex offenders to post during last year's trick-or-treating hours, in order to let parents know which houses to avoid. We even had deeply offensive musical accompaniment! But despite last year's positive results, the signs were not required this year, according to WTOP. Why's that? "[T]he sign was confusing because it had a pumpkin," said the coordinator of the sex offender registry for the county sheriff's office. So confusing that you'd miss the large, green "NO CANDY AT THIS RESIDENCE" text which lies directly on top of the pumpkin's face?

At the top of the agenda this week are two concerts of rarely heard Baroque music, very different from one another but both worth hearing. Many other options, including some excellent free concerts, come later.

Rep. Michelle Bachmann, that balrog from the 6th Circle of Minnesota, has summoned her minions to descend upon the Capitol on Thursday, The Hill reports. What should our poor Hellmouth of a federal city expect? Invoking "every one" of Sean Hannity's viewers is probably a summoning feat too great for even an unholy overlord as powerful as Bachmann, but presuming that she is able to call up even a fraction of Fox's zombies, the city could be looking at a horde of 9/12ers large enough to seize the Capitol steps. What do they need (beyond braaains)? Freedom from health-care, or something! A suggestion for the visiting undead looking to fit in thematic evening plans: the Kurt Vile show at the Black Cat.

Washington National Opera's new production of Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos puts me in a bit of a quandary. It has a score and libretto of particular beauty and is produced rarely enough -- the last time WNO mounted it was in 1994 -- that I would always recommend that others see it, even if this particular production, heard on Wednesday night, is not an ideal one. It is a shame that this quirky opera, revised by Strauss and his brilliant librettist, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, as a postmodern dissection of the perils and vanities of creating opera, returns to Washington National Opera at this time. The company's precarious financial situation has led to a season cobbled together to fulfill contracts, hardly a context for great Strauss to thrive. Even so, the production's party atmosphere and bright costumes could make tonight's performance (at 7 p.m.) an interesting alternative Halloween destination (see the notes at the end of this review for a possible discount opportunity).

Cast your eyes on this image, ye reader, and despair! Truly the most horrifying image poured into the DCist Photo Cauldron so far. Or at the very least, the most damning. Flickr user M.V. Jantzen actually captured these souls during (what else?) the annual drag race, but let it stand as a challenge: Can a costume come in a more terrifying form than floral? I submit not.

    

The Church of Scientology Religious Trust's building at 16th and P Streets NW is the site of a barricaded celebration of some sort today -- one which is blocking a sizable section of one of the District's major arteries. (Obviously, I wasn't invited behind the curtain. I mean, you should have seen my last audit: whew!) Police are out in full force around the humongous 50,000-square foot building, and security is tight -- a ten-foot tall white temporary barricade is blocking off 16th Street; there are huge draping banners reading "SCIENTOLOGY" and "DIANETICS", though, in case those walking by on their Saturday jaunts to the 14th and P retail corridor were wondering what the hell was going on with this big white thing in the middle of the street.

But perhaps you're like me, and have begun to feel the urge to strap on some thick socks, tighten up the laces and hit the ice. If so, here's some good news: the Washington Post Weekend twitter feed reported yesterday that the National Gallery of Art's Sculpture Garden skating rink will open for public use on November 14 this year, but two weeks from today. While this editor is plenty excited to hear the scraping of ice on metal firsthand, I'd certainly be remiss if I failed to disclose that this news saves me from having to dig deep for an innovative date spot next month, if but for one evening. (Thanks for the help, Smithsonian National Gallery of Art!)