Results tagged “worldwarii”

Victory — not the concept, but the statue at State Place and 17th Street NW — is the Ghost of Christmas Past. Freedom — the Eastward-facing statue atop the Capitol Dome; not that thing that The Terrorists hate us for — is the Ghost of Christmas Present. And the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come arrives draped in the inky robes of Grief.

In England, being named poet laureate is a lot like being named to the U.S. Supreme Court: once there, you're there for life. More importantly, you're expected to be the living, breathing embodiment of a tradition, of an institution constructed entirely of words, texts, precedent. And, though you aren't expected to wear robes when performing your job, you are expected to pen occasional verses on the birth of a royal or on the opening of...

Today we bring you a Photo of the Photo of the Day, a little meta-action, if you will. Flickr user akkleis took this shot of the viewfinder image of the World War II Memorial on her friend's Rollei. The developing "mistake" that caused the film strip impression on the right only adds to the feel. EXIF.

>> The woman NPR crowned the "Queen of the Acoustic Guitar," Kaki King, takes the 9:30's stage tonight opening for the John Butler Trio. When DCist saw her play last year at Jammin Java, we were floored by "the wild, jazzy, and melodic 'voice' of her guitar." $20 will get you in the door for a great double bill. >> The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay author Michael Chabon will be at the 6th...

MONDAY: Cullen Murphy, the Atlantic’s managing editor, will be at Politics and Prose to talk about his new book Are We Rome? Murphy is of course referring to spreading corruption in Washington, our imperialist tendencies and the outsourcing of government work to private contractors. Personally, we'd rather read a book comparing our government with a different empire, but we won't hold our breath on that one. 7 p.m. TUESDAY: Dancer and award-winning actress Victoria Rowell...

Good Morning, Washington. It looks like another fine spring day from our vantage point at DCist headquarters -- weather fit for a queen, as it were. Thanks to Flickr user Jon-Miles for sharing some of his shots with us from yesterday's press event with President Bush and Queen Elizabeth II. Today is the final day of the Queen's tour of the region. Before a private dinner with the Bushes, she'll spend it by visiting the...

The aftermath of tragic events always bring stories of harrowing plight and exemplary heroism to the fore. Instinctively, one recoils at pointing up any one single story for the fear of diminishing others--and in the wake of yesterday's horrifying tragedy at Virginia Tech we're sure to hear many stories that will test the limits of what we can bear. But one story that has emerged today has stuck with us, all the same. It has...

The National Mall is, as we're sure the Park Service will tell you, a national treasure, a constantly evolving piece of L'Enfant's vision of Washington. (It is not, however, a place for careful editing, unless "relfecting" is a colonial word meaning "to walk about in knee-high tube socks and bermuda shorts upon gravel pathways".) The key word, though, is evolving. The moment ground is broken on one monument, the lobbying begins for the next one....

After the success of the second part of its American Ring Cycle, with all performances long since sold out, Washington National Opera opened its second spring production on Saturday evening, Gaetano Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment. There is no reason to revive this rather silly comic opera, last mounted by WNO in 1993, unless you have a truly remarkable cast and perhaps a new and interesting production. That seemed to be the case with this...

What is it about historic D.C. firehouses that spark culinary ambition? A pair of in-the-works restaurants aim to address this burning question. As Express recently reported, a pre-World War II firehouse in the Bloomingdale neighborhood is slated to become an eatery called EC-12, whose name references the old Engine Company 12 that used to occupy the building. Architects are currently working on building plans, after which developers will be able to apply for a building...

Last year's celebration of the 100th birthday of Dmitri Shostakovich, on September 25, fizzled out somewhat here in Washington. This week, dedicated listeners had the chance to take their fill of the Russian composer's music. After a thundering concert performance of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by the Kirov Opera on Sunday, it was the Emerson Quartet who brought the early half of their complete cycle of Shostakovich's fifteen string quartets, played to great acclaim in London and other places (available in a live recording made at the Aspen Music Festival several years ago). On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evening in the sold-out Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, the most attentive audience in recent Washington history heard the first eight string quartets and the piano quintet. With coughing and other distracting noise kept to a striking minimum, one had the feeling of being in the company of serious listeners. A man in front of me cupped his hand to his ear to focus on the quartet's sound if there was too much rustling of programs near him.

By DCist contributor Christopher Durocher. This weekend, the Library of Congress, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) each honored the contributions of Franklin E. Kameny, an 81-year-old D.C. resident who has served as a civil rights icon for the past half a century. Kameny’s activism began in 1957, when he appealed his dismissal from the Army Map Service of being gay. He has continued to live an out, proud life...

FRIDAY:

The Roosevelt's debut EP is a bit like the FDR Memorial: A lot of people out there will say, "There's a Roosevelt memorial?" while others will keep trying to persuade their friends and family to check it out. The comparisons pretty much end there. Our 32nd president led the country through the Great Depression and most of World War II. The Roosevelt are just trying to make a name for themselves in the D.C. music scene. Their self-titled debut should help move things along.

In light of this momentous weekend in movie history, we here at DCist would like to take a brief look back at some of the seminal events in moving pictures. Ever since the dawn of the 20th century, the transmission of images on celluloid has captivated people around the world. Silent films, such as Georges Melies' Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon), Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin and Charlie Chaplin's varied oeuvre pioneered many of the elements that are integral to today's big budget extravaganzas -- special effects, tracking shots, jump cuts, and more. With the advent of talking films, both directors and politicians began to see films' value as a tool of propaganda. As World War II dawned, Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will portrayed Adolf Hitler and the German troops in a positive light, while across the ocean, American filmmakers struck back with their own allegory of the struggle between good and evil, the 1942 classic film, Star Wars.

FRIDAY:

Fringe. When most Washingtonians speak the word, it’s usually in the context of dangerous foreign militias or whatever wackadoo mental sputum has oozed forth from John Hinderaker’s brain that morning. But for the next eleven days, Washington is going to come to know the term in a whole new light, because today is the start of the first-ever Capital Fringe Festival, a merry and motley collection of unique theatre, dance, cabaret and decidedly “other” performances, set to take Seventh Street NW by storm.

Heaven is a bleak place for Anselm Kiefer.

Arguments over where to put new monuments on the National Mall have grown increasingly frequent and divisive as the front lawn has filled up. In 2003, Congress banned new construction on the Mall's cross-axis, beyond what had already been approved. In 2004, the National Museum of the American Indian and the World War II Memorial opened, and recently, a trapezoidal spot just northeast of the Washington Monument was chosen as the location for the National...

Those of you that hang around here at DCist fairly often, and I certainly encourage the behavior, may have noticed that nothing generates a huffy, neverending comment thread like a good turf battle. We see tiffs between the central municipalities and the exurbs, between Washingtonians east and west of Rock Creek, and especially between D.C. and Arlington (an epic struggle indeed). Mainly good fun for, as our own Jason Linkins pointed out recently, cities are cool because there are lots of different areas to visit; only a total goober would really get vein-popping mad over whose side of the river was better.

This is going to be a good week. There are so many things to hear, concerts that promise great delights. We'll start with the best of the best and go from there. RECOMMENDED: >> For many serious fans of the piano, especially those who prize accuracy of technique and intellectual craft, there is only Maurizio Pollini. The last time that he played in Washington, I leapt at the chance to hear him, as I have...

This week's Washington Post magazine features a sprawling story by David Von Drehel on Washington's economic juggernaut. The piece jumps around a lot, throwing out some questionable economic assertions, overhyping (we feel) the terrorist menace, and curiously detouring on the morality of Washington's growth in a post-September 11th world, but the main point of his story is clear: In the past four years, government spending in the area has skyrocketed (increasing by $18.5 billion over...

Back in 1960, when Eisenhower signed into creation the first agency charged with creating a regional rail system for Washington, the city must have looked remarkably different. Having been wholly reshaped by population growth and new construction during World War II and the years that followed, the greater Washington area was still less than half the size it is today. When the first Metro cars opened 30 years ago (nearly to the day), the area...

This weekend is not only the last of January, but the last of the Chinese calendar year. We had some lewd jokes about fireworks and "The Year of the Rooster" prepared, but given that our last attempt at ethnic humor almost ended with us being chased out of D.C., we’ll play it safe this time and simply wish you all a Happy Lunar New Year. FRIDAY >>The key to a vibrant local music scene is...

March for Life Takes to National Mall: The National Mall will be a few hundred thousand people more crowded this morning, as pro-life activists participate in the annual March for Life, reports WTOP. Large sections of the Mall will be closed to traffic, including the area between Pennsylvania Avenue and Independence Avenue from Third Street to Fifteenth Street. District officials have announced that starting at 7 a.m. they will turn on their 19-camera CCTV network to watch for any potential security threats and to better coordinate police response to the large crowds. In related news, Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick will give Mass to 20,000 teens at the Rally for Life and Youth Mass Monday at the MCI Center.

This DCist loves opera, but we understand that it is not for everyone and that the cost can be prohibitive. If your mood turns operatic, however, it's a good month for you. This is the final week for Gershwin's Porgy and Bess with Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, with sold-out performances on Tuesday (November 15, 7:30 p.m.), Friday (November 18, 7:30 p.m.), and Saturday (November 19, 7 p.m.). If you still want to...

, now being staged at the Folger Theatre, gave us the original archetypes who proved that if a couple doesn’t wittily express their initial hatred before eventually realizing they’re nuts about each other, they’re really not all that interesting to watch.

This DCist went to listen to some of the Rostropovich Cello Competition qualifying round this past week, which we recommended to you in our last Classical Music Agenda. Although that was good listening, it's still August, and there is not that much to hear as far as classical music in Washington, but we have drummed up a few things you might want to consider.

One of our favorite monuments in this city is the District of Columbia's World War I Memorial, honoring those from the capital who fought and died in the Great War. This DCist's late great uncle, who grew up in Foggy Bottom before George Washington University gobbled it all up, was a World War I vet. So we stop by when ever we stroll through West Potomac Park.