Photo: Stephen Elliot / mudproductions.com for Crystal Couture

Tonight marks the first public night of the annual Crystal Couture event in Crystal City.

For five nights, a host of local boutiques and lines will gather for a massive trunk show (some offering discounts up to 50%) and to present their wares in a series of runway shows. Pretty People Vintage, Toucan Boutique, and Stella & Dot are among the participating vendors. There will also be hair and make-up consultations and services available for shoppers needing a bit of a refresher.

For those who do not often get a chance to run all over the metro area scoping out all the small local shops and designers, this seems like a great one-stop shop to find something new for spring.

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Supposed to be kinda nice outside today. You should go take advantage of that…

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Metro shots are always fun. The bright, colorful lights, combined with the blacks of the shadows, go together so well. Cruffo’s shot is unique because of the lens flare, a refraction of light in the lens of the camera which shows up in the image as multiple blue circles. Sometimes these flares can ruin a picture; other times they add a bit of wonder to an ordinary photo. This one is definitely a benefit, with the added bonus of adding color to the image. Quite the shot!

You may have noticed the signs posted in the front windows of Tryst, Local 16, Solly’s, or maybe even Hello Cupcake. But in case you didn’t , here’s the low down. For the past four months, there’s been a monthly “DC Local Music Day” (FYI: It’s February 8 this month).

What is DC Local Music Day? It is the day in which the aforementioned shops (and others) stream music created by local artists from open to close. This is all thanks to Listen Local First.

If you haven’t heard of it yet, LLF is a new local music initiative in town. LLF is devoted to building awareness and creating opportunities for local musicians and venues in order to raise the profile of DC’s local music scene. All things considered, they’ve been doing a pretty good job so far. They’ve got a growing list of local business partnerships and show no sign of slowing down.

LLF is the brain child of co-founders Chris Naoum and Rene Moffatt and their next goal for the project is bringing the DC music scene to SXSW this March.

“We have some very talented very serious musicians in this town. Many of them will be heading down to Austin. What can we do to bring extra attention to these artists while they are in Austin and when they come back home,” Naoum said. “The Mobile Music Venue is all about exposure.”

Want to get involved and support the Mobile Music Venue campaign? It’s easy. Visit the Listen Local First Kickstarter page to learn how.

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Photo ©Carol Pratt/Folger Theatre

It’s a woman’s world out there. Now a days more women than men are attending college and these more educated females are putting off families and earning more money than men. As a late-20’s lost boy, I’m ok with saying that.  Folger Theatre’s production of The Gaming Table represents this new role of women well. In the show the women are empowered, smart, and clever while the males range from bumbling to sissy.

Amazing that the play the show was adapted from, The Basset Table, originally written in 18th century by playwright Susanna Centlivre. While additional material was added to modernize the piece, the play is still truly ahead of its time. Lady Reveller (Julie Jesneck) and her cousin Valeria (Emily Trask) are two different women who suffer from the same problem. Reveller would rather play cards at the Basset table she runs in her uncle’s (Michael Willis) house than put up with the affections of Lord Worthy (Marcus Kyd). Valeria isn’t much for cards, she is a woman of science. However her father would rather see her married to a Sea Captain (Michael Glenn) then dissecting frogs. Valeria doesn’t fancy Captain Hearty but does have an eye for his Ensign (Robbie Gay).

An 18th century play with a modern RomCom set-up. Doesn’t matter when the play was written though- you’ll be a laughing in the aisles all night.

The ladies in this show are sharp as tacks and punchlines are delivered quick and often. The audience will be chuckling all throughout the night, culminating to a dick joke that was clearly added in the adaption yet wins the night. Lady Rev and Valeria are supported by an equally charming group of ladies. Lady Lucy (Katie duBuys), Mrs. Sago (Tonya Beckman Ross), and the house maid Alpiew (Emily Townley) all fit in with the theme of fun-loving ladies who don’t let their men be the boss of them. Townley as Alpiew is a real scene stealer with her timely facial expressions that just adds the right amount of ham to this dish.

The men in this show are no Prince Charmings by any means. Lord Worthy (Marcus Kyd) pines away at his unrequited love for Lady Reveller in true diva fashion. Throw a pair of skinny jeans on him and he’d fit in as today’s emo hipster. His sidekick James (Michael Milligan) is after the hand of Lady Lucy, but his flamboyant suit and puffed up hair makes him look more like Liberace than Darcy.

However because the piece is a Restoration Comedy, the men in the end get their act together and outwit the ladies to get what they want. An ending that goes against most of the strong female themes of the show, but is corrected by an epilogue added at the end of the show.

Out of the all the pieces I’ve seen at Folger over the past year, The Gaming Table currently stands out as the most enjoyable to date. A classic piece that does not bore, a comedy that keeps things light, and an adaptation that does not try to change too much of a play that’s already solid in its original form.

Folger Theatre’s production of The Gaming Table performs through March 4 at the Folger Shakespeare Library, located at 201 East Capitol Street SE, Washington, DC 20003. Closest Metro stop: Capitol South (Blue/Orange lines). For more information call 202-544-7077.

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It was a bad weekend for Washington sports. However while some are bummed over the Caps loss to the Bruins yesterday, at least they are hovering above .500 with a 27-21 record. It would take a miracle for the Washington Wizards to achieve such a feat.

This past weekend the Wizards lost to the Clippers in a 87-107 blowout. At 4-20, you would think that the funk of defeat couldn’t penetrate any deeper. This game however struck me as a moment where everything that happened just felt apropos. Much like how the entire season can be viewed while listening to the Benny Hill theme song.

The game started on a high note. Blake Griffin put up a dunk to which Nick Young rebutted with a dunk of his own. DeAndre Jordan then caught a rebound for a dunk and John Wall took the ball to the other end and throw up a lob for JaVale McGee to slam home.

Perhaps the game would at least be entertaining if not competitive? It turned out the game would be neither. The rest of the night just went down hill from there.

By halftime the Clippers led 34-58, the boos were coming in not for Andray Blatche (still out with a calf injury) but for the poor play of the Washington Professional Basketball Team. Any time Chris Paul and Griffin raced down the court on a fast break, you could hear the “oh no’s” in the crowd. It was an odd mixture of excitement for another Lob City highlight dunk and a realization of futility that the Wizards would never really be in this game.

Little things off the court started to feel right in line with the play on the court. A Wizards fan who played the shuffle game on the jumbo-tron failed to pick the shell that had G-Wiz was hiding under. During a time-out there was a trike race sponsored by the Washington Post that failed to end on-time, causing a hasty retreat from the court as the players walked on.

When play resumed things weren’t looking good for the Wizards, who only added to the long list of video lowlights. Like this one:

Capital City isn’t Lob City.

With 8:00 left in the game the Clippers had the follower players out on the court:

• Ryan Gomes
• Randy Foye
• Trey Thompkins
• Brian Cook
• Travis Leslie

Blake Griffin was already in sweats sitting back and relaxing after putting up 21 points and a billion gazillion dunks. Late in the forth quarter the crowd cameras were put up on the screen to find the “Fan of the Game”.

At that moment the crowd was already getting up and heading for the exits with about five minutes left to play.

After the game a tired and perhaps shell-shocked Randy Wittman sat down and just stared at the box score of the game, trying to make sense of it all.

“We got dominated again in every category,” Coach Wittman managed to say after a moment of silence reading the box score and admitted that he didn’t know how to fix what just happened.

“I don’t know I’m still searching too.”

Tonight the Wizards play the Raptors in a game that should be less David and Goliath than Saturday, however the two played each other this past Friday and Toronto blew them out 89-106.

While the Capitals lost on the scoreboard to the Bruins yesterday afternoon, the bigger loss might have been in the locker room. Versatile forward Brooks Laich was helped off the ice after a hard check into the board and did not return for the remainder of the game. Laich was seen leaving Verizon Center in a leg brace and on crutches, leading to speculation about his return, and is currently listed as “day-to-day” by coach Dale Hunter. If this was the beginning of the season, there would not be much to worry about. Hockey is a rough sport and players are often injured. However, right now we are entering the thick of the playoff race and the games are all looking like they are “must win.”

Laich, who is currently sixth on the team in points (10 goals, 18 assists), joins Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green on the list of highly-paid, important Caps personnel who are unable to assist the team as it attempts to claw its way into the playoffs from its present position in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. The three players represent about $16.5, or 25%, of the team’s total payroll.

When Laich went down and was helped to the dressing room, many fans on Twitter were remarking that it might be the nail in the coffin for the Caps chances at the Stanley Cup or even the playoffs at all. With the NHL trade deadline looming in only three weeks, and clear knowledge that some sort of changes must be made, the Capitals are faced with the decision to either fish or cut bait.

Since arguing with yourself is not the most productive (or sane) of pastimes, Kevin Klein (follow him on Twitter @sickunbelievabl) of the new and highly recommended Capitals blog Sick, Unbelievable has provided one (probably more popular) option for the Caps: be buyers over the next month and make a hard run at the playoffs and Cup.

Kevin argues that acquiring one good piece could vault the Caps into the mix of things, especially since the Eastern Conference is so tight this season:

The trade deadline looms at the end of a shortened month, and the Capitals’ needs are painfully evident. Washington is a team that is built to win now, not later, and a failure to secure a playoff berth would mark one of the biggest disappointments in the franchise’s 38 season history. Their best players are entering the primes of their careers, and the team has now experienced four consecutive postseasons with the same core of players. But always there has been a missing element. Thus, it makes sense that the Capitals will be buyers, not sellers.

Though general managers are a clandestine bunch when it comes to the status of their players, a few names have emerged as trade-deadline candidates around the league. At center— a position at which the Caps currently resemble a one armed man clinging to a piece of sodden flotsam­­­­— the following options have been bandied about: Derek Roy, Ryan Getzlaf, Sam Gagner, and Jeff Carter.

The assumption was that one of these players, upon acquisition, could center the team’s second line, thereby bolstering the offense in both even strength and powerplay scenarios. But now, with Nicklas Backstrom and Brooks Laich’s health hanging in the balance, a trade target’s responsibilities within his hypothetical new team could be even greater.

A brief analysis of each: Gagner, already labeled a bust by some at age 22, spent the week in the record books after reeling off points in 11 consecutive Edmonton goals over a span of 3 periods. But Gagner is unproven, and this streak may have made him pricier than he’s worth. Getzlaf is a proven, big bodied center with a scoring touch. In a perfect world he’d end the season wearing a Caps sweater. Getzlaf’s con however, is his cap hit of $5.3m— a trait he shares with Jeff Carter, who also boasts an enormous 11 year contract. As Getzlaf has only one year left on his contract, it makes him a much lower-risk option.

Derek Roy, perhaps the quintessential fit for Washington’s roster needs and salary allowances, is another veteran top-2 center, under contract through next season, with a cap hit of only $4m. Any of these players, though, would greatly improve the Caps’ chances at a sustained playoff run.

There is still much to be learned between now and February 27th— Backstrom, Laich, and Mike Green’s health paramount among them— but one thing is certain: February will not be a quiet month for George McPhee.

However, there is also the possibility that the inverse is true in this situation. That is, what the Capitals can pick up at the trade deadline is not enough to help them achieve postseason success. There are two important aspects that must be considered when examining the Caps’ personnel situation: the present and the future. I think that a serious argument could be made that it would be in the best interests of the Capitals in both the short-term and long-term to sell, sell, sell as the trade deadline approaches.

In the short term, there is the question of just how much talent would have to be acquired in order for the Capitals to be successful. Mike Green, arguably the team’s number one defenseman, is out for at least a few more weeks recovering from a groin injury (which are notoriously hard to recover from) and abdominal surgery for a sports hernia. Nicklas Backstrom is still experiencing concussion-like symptoms from a Rene Bourque cheap shot, similar to Sidney Crosby, who has been benched almost the entire 2011-12 season after sustaining a similar injury last year, and Marc Savard, who hasn’t played since a concussion in the 2009-10 season. If Brooks Laich is also sidelined with an injury for an extended period of time, there might not be enough quality players available for the Caps to sign or trade for to be successful this season, or the cost of acquiring such replacement players might be ruinous to the Capitals’ future chances.

Thinking long-term also leads to the same conclusion. After the Caps fired coach Bruce Boudreau early in the season, not only did it soon become abundantly clear that the previous coach was not the problem, but also that the team believed that new coach Dale Hunter figured prominently in their long-term plans. According to GM George McPhee, the team had “talked consistently over 12 years [to Hunter], and was always hoping that one day Dale could coach this team.”

Hunter will be the coach next season. As constructed, however, the team is not set up to succeed under Hunter’s system, evidenced by its lackluster performance since November. It is obvious that Hunter can coach: he was the fastest Ontario Hockey League coach to record 400 wins (although his success remains to be proven at the NHL level). The solution, then, is to give Hunter players with which he can implement his system and win hockey games. In order to get those players, the Capitals will need to give up assets of their own and give the players time (read: an offseason of practice) to gel and become a cohesive unit.

Next year’s Caps team will probably look much different than it now appears. Mike Knuble is aging and will likely retire. Enigmatic Russian winger Alex Semin will likely not be re-signed due to both the disconnect between his whopping salary ($6.7 million) and mediocre performance (currently 112th in the NHL in points) and the advent of prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov next season. Goalie Tomas Vokoun has been solid in net for Washington, but only signed a one-year deal, one in which he was disappointed and that convinced him to fire his agent, which invites speculation that he might be looking for a bigger payday with the Caps or elsewhere this offseason.

In addition to those players, the Capitals will also have to re-sign or replace Mike Green ($5.25 million), Dennis Wideman ($3.93 million), and John Carlson, who will be due a raise from his rookie contract. In order to make some or all of these deals, salary will need to be shed. Why not move some players now to a contending team and stockpile draft picks and prospects with which to make moves over the summer, instead of letting them leave in free agency for nothing. That way, the Capitals will have the cap space and the incentives with which to get Dale Hunter exactly the players he wants for next season’s campaign. A well-constructed team with a plan and on the same page as its coach has a much higher chance of success than one cobbled together at the trade deadline, such as Washington has tried the past few seasons.

In my opinion, it is worth going through a rebuild (although not a complete fire sale) and missing the playoffs for a few seasons and then winning the Cup as opposed to barely making the playoffs every season and getting quickly eliminated. For these reasons I think the Caps will be sellers as we approach the trade deadline in a few weeks.

In either case, as Kevin mentioned, February will not be a quiet month for the Capitals.

Well, exciting weekend. And after all the activity at McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza, no mere game seemed able to compete. And from the sound of it, the commercials were much, much worse than the game. I decided to read a book instead last night and can tell you that Wall still stands. I’m not sure the same can be said of the New England half of my family…

Anyways, I’m sure many of you are shaking off either too much food, or too many adult beverages from last night. To that I say, take a load off and enjoy a slice from the weekend, in photo form. I can promise you there will be no barking dogs hoking cars; or sexist ads from crappy web hosting companies; or poorly made, jingoistic commercials from Belgian owned beer conglomerates. So enjoy!

Sunday’s main event – Puppy Bowl
courtesy of yostinator

Pecheur de lune
courtesy of LaTur

Police Raid Occupy DC Encampment
courtesy of TDLphoto

Standoff
courtesy of urbandispute

Attention Grabber
courtesy of ep_jhu

Inside the Capitol Dome
courtesy of ARealSidler

Just a normal Saturday night on 14th St
courtesy of señor sideburns

0086990-R1-013-5
courtesy of Matt Gerson

IMG_9720
courtesy of Collin David Anderson

The United States Park Police did on Saturday morning what they had been threatening to do for a week, and cleared out the tents and violating equipment from McPherson Square Park. The four-month occupation of the park by a group of protestors discussing varied issues from income inequality to college loan debt to the war in Afghanistan. Eight were arrested, and one officer was hurt when he was hit in the head by a brick, but otherwise the action was without violence. For a more personal view of the action, I highly encourage you to read Dave Stroup’s take on Saturday’s actions, which speak to the ephemeral community of Occupy K Street.

The photos from the morning after are a sad coda to the state of the park, which had just undergone a refurbishment by the Park Service, with new sod and landscaping both destroyed by the four-month long protest. You can’t do the math on an event like this, though, and expect to get a proper sum. In the end, their issues are on the lips of many District residents, both to discuss, and to mock.

I was very glad to see this pass without significant violence, and without a high arrest total. The Tent of Dreams, pictured above, might have been Occupy DC’s finest hour, but it could only last so long.

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Two weeks ago, the Capitals came into their game against the Boston Bruins on the hockey equivalent of fourth and long: reeling from consecutive losses and missing their captain, Alex Ovechkin. With the help of a hat trick from an unexpected source, diminutive Mathieu Perreault, the Caps hung on to beat the Bruins and set the stage for today’s Super Sunday rematch.

The Bruins opened the scoring, after Milan Lucic caught Dennis Wideman napping and buried a midrange attempt. That play was the end result of the Caps being unable to generate any sustained zone pressure early in the game. An unsuccessful Jeff Schultz dump in led to the Bruins rush. Eight minutes later, Patrice Bergeron out-hustled half of the Caps team to chase down a loose puck behind the net and found Brad Marchand wide open for the second Bruins goal of the afternoon.

The second period was unremarkable. Neither team scored, and the Caps were outshot by the Bruins. Worryingly, the Caps lost one of the faces of their franchise, venerable forward Brooks Laich to an apparent leg injury late in the second period as a result of a clean check by Dennis Seidenberg.

The Caps’ ineffectual play continued throughout the third period. A woeful offensive zone presence and defensive miscue after defensive miscue doomed the Capitals. Additionally, the Caps’ injury concerns piled up after Dmitry Orlov left the ice trailing blood after being struck by a puck in the face (for the second time in two days). In a slight positive, the Capitals did manage to avoid getting shut out as Marcus Johansson finally solved Tim Thomas and banked in a hail mary shot off Dennis Seidenberg late in the third period. Rich Peverley added an empty net goal to seal the win for the Bruins.

Washington’s next game is Tuesday against the Florida Panthers.

On a sunny February afternoon, it’s a wonderful thing to think about baseball and dream of the balmy summer evenings, the smell of the half smokes on the grill, the hum of an AM radio wafting on the breeze, and the thrill of the grass in front of you.

It’s a lot less fun to think about the drunk from Philly who’s two rows down in front of you throwing batteries at Jayson Werth.

The Nationals have opened up tickets for DC area residents ahead of anywhere else for DC metro area residents through an online pre-sale. This won’t keep the Philly fans out of Nats Park, but it will mean there are fewer of them. Go out and do your duty and cheer on the (drastically improved) Nationals this May.

The question most often asked when people talk about Edwin Jackson is why has he been on so many teams. The Nats will be Jackson’s eighth team in his nine year career, and the reason is simple. Jackson has never cost much and always had top of the rotation stuff with back of the rotation results. Every new team that gets him believes they can be the ones that can finally unlock all that potential and the team getting rid of him was just tired of waiting.

The interesting thing about the one year $10 million contract that Jackson signed with the Nationals is that it is in line more with Jackson’s results than his potential, and Jackson was more than willing to take a one year deal in order to have a career year and cash in next off-season. The late Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson once said, “Just give me 25 guys on the last year of their contracts; I’ll win a pennant every year.”

With Edwin Jackson the Nats get one highly motivated pitcher that can’t wait to prove his value to the world. The Nats rotation has a lot of ifs but those ifs have evolved a lot in the last few years. No longer are the Nats hoping for the health of John Patterson or Shawn Hill or that a surprise can be found among a bunch of minor league free agents. The Nats have a legitimate major league rotation, and perhaps something even better.

In 2011 eleven Nats starters combined for 928 2/3 IP and 10.7 WAR. The projected starting five of Strasburg, Zimmermann, Gonzalez, Jackson, and Wang project to pitch 889 innings with 16.4 WAR. That does leave a few innings to be picked up by Gorzelanny, Detwiler, Stammen, Maya, or Lannan if he isn’t traded, but the WAR value improvement even with just those five is almost six wins better than 2011. This would give the Nats a mid-80’s win total and put them in arms reach of a wild card if they can find any offense.

The Nats have yet to add that ever elusive center fielder, but there are a few simple ways in which the Nats offense could be better in 2012 than it was in 2011. The first and most important is for the Nats to get at least 140 games out of Ryan Zimmerman. In 2009 and 2010 Zimmerman was an over 7.0 WAR player and won the silver slugger for third basemen both seasons. In 2011 Zimmerman played 101 games and was worth 2.5 WAR if Zimmerman can return to being Zimmerman then that alone gives the Nats an increase of four to five wins.

Then there is the big free agent signing of December of 2010, Jayson Werth. Werth had a bad year in 2011, but improved in the second half under Davey Johnson. Johnson put Werth back in his customary five spot in the line-up and made an effort to work with Jayson on his swing. There were rumors out there that Riggleman had lost the clubhouse before he quit and one of the main players behind that was Jayson Werth. If Werth can improve even by one win it would help the Nats greatly.

The last major thing to go wrong for the Nats in 2011 was the Spring Training injury to the shoulder of Adam LaRoche. LaRoche has never been a great player but he has never been a bad one either. He is essentially a league average first baseman. He will hit 25 homers and get on base at a steady clip, but he isn’t going to blow anyone away with his power or on base skills. His biggest attribute is his defense at first base. Think of LaRoche in this way as to how he will improve the 2012 Nats; he is a better hitter than Nix and a better fielder than Morse, and all of that is worth roughly one win in the standings.

If even one of those three things happen in 2012 then the Nats offense will improve. If more than one of them happen then the Nats could surprise a lot of people. The addition of Edwin Jackson on his own doesn’t make the Nats contenders, but it adds to what they have already done this off-season. One of the biggest issues the Nats had with starting pitching in 2011 was innings pitched by starters. Too often the bullpen was being asked to get 10 to 12 outs. Edwin Jackson for his career has averaged 195 innings pitched a season and 5.99 innings pitched a start. Add this to the 200 innings that Gio Gonzalez is projected to give the Nats and it is easy to see the value Jackson brings to the Nationals rotation.

Food truck friday? FOOD TRUCK FRIDAY! Check out that strEATS-powered map!

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Last weekend the National Gallery of Art reopened the Nineteenth-Century French Galleries, which contain works by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Modigliani and Picasso.

The gallery now organizes the paintings thematically and provides textual panels to help visitors understand the reasoning behind the new groupings. In addition, thirteen of the paintings have been restored.

I went last Saturday and was blown away by both the beauty on display and the enthusiasm of the visitors around me. In fact, I was so amazed by the Cézanne pieces that I ran out of time and missed Monet. However that shouldn’t be a problem: the NGA’s price tag (always free) and nearness to Metro mean I can always…Gauguin. Yes, that’s a little Post-Impressionist humor for your Friday.

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Honestly, I’m not sure I understand why you’re reading this instead of being outside enjoying this beautifully abnormal day. But perhaps you just can’t wait to make your weekend plans. Well we couldn’t (because it’s an assignment and I’m a whiney editor who prods people about it) so you may as well read about it. And then go outside. Seriously.

Brittany: This weekend I make a rare excursion west to check out the Tamal Festival at Richard Sandoval’s Tysons property, La Sandia. Looking forward to some tasty tamales and margaritas with a Virginia friend to celebrate the unseasonably warm weather. It is a big weekend for DJ nights too: I will be stopping by St. Ex for Color Wheel – a DJ night offering “the rainbow of grooves.” Who could say no to that? There is also ZOo00OOM! at the 9:30 Back Bar and We Fought the Big One at Marx Cafe to consider. Sunday afternoon may find me at Smoke & Barrel for some of their tasty and super crowd-pleasing brunch – they are the rare brunch spot that can please vegan, gluten-free, and omnivore friends with ease.

christmas eve
courtesy of volcanojw

Joanna: It’s my birthday weekend! I plan to spend Friday with friends drinking Guinness, eating fried stuff, and then drinking more Guinness. On Saturday my husband Michael is taking a day off from studying, and we decided to hit up the museums we’ve been missing. I’ve yet to see the Hope Diamond or Declaration of Independence, which makes me – lover of galleries – a pathetic, backwards wannabe. So we’re going to remedy that and catch a few obscure galleries, too. We may turn so touristy that we go ice skating afterward. Saturday night what I’d like to be doing is seeing Genesis Reboot at Synetic but dang it that hasn’t opened yet, so I’m still deciding – but it will probably involve tapas. And on Sunday we’re watching the Super Bowl with friends over my favorite mac and cheese. This year Michael might experiment by adding bacon. Suck it, resolutions!

moviebillboard
courtesy of RTLibrary

Mosley: Quiet weekend for me; I’m still recovering from my birthday last weekend.  I’m hoping that the weather stays good for Friday night, because I’m thinking of going on a nice photo walk through town.  I might even lug my tripod around for some long exposure, night shots!  Saturday I’d like to go and see the Maltese Falcon playing at the American History Museum.  The museum is doing a Humphrey Bogart film festival this weekend to celebrate the opening of their new theater.  I’d prefer to see Casablanca on Friday, but it’s sold out.  That night I’m having dinner with my family at Toscana Cafe near Union Station.  Sunday…I’ll probably watch the game somewhere but I really could care about the outcome, or the commercials.

Flowered Cross
courtesy of Kevin H.

Rachel: The first weekend of February should prove to be a good one! I’m gonna kick things off by catching up with an old friend around the Tenleytown area. Maybe we’ll hit up Public Tenley … not sure where we’ll end up yet though. Saturday will be my first live performance of 2012. It’ll be at my alma mater American University in the Tavern. Doors open at 1, show starts at 1:15, and I’ll be playing until around 2 p.m. The best part is that it’s f-r-e-e! Then, Sunday is the Super Bowl, so I’ll be hulled up at Ragtime in Arlington watching my friends from New York root for their beloved Giants.

Come to the Theatre
courtesy of M.V. Jantzen

Fedward: Saturday night the Social Chair and I will be hobnobbing at the Zinoplex during the Studio Theatre’s annual gala. Last year I had a ring in my pocket I never got the chance to produce (and oh, the awkward conversation with a particular flirty/pushy board member – some of you will know who I mean); this year that ring is on her finger and we’ve got a date set, so I can already predict how our conversations will go (the aforementioned board member should approve). Sunday we’ll stop by the Passenger for our usual brunch, and maybe swing by the new Odd Bar at Eventide.

Rothko II
courtesy of Edward Hoover

Jenn: Like Joanna, it’s my birthday weekend, and I’m in search of some Zen. Perhaps I’ll wander over to the Phillips to continue my Rothko research after having seen Red last week, also catching the new photography and painting exhibit opening Saturday which features photos snapped by artists like Bonnard. More passionate art could include Federico Garcia Lorca’s hauntingly poetic play Blood Wedding, as Constellation Theatre Company’s production opens tonight. But who am I kidding, I’m sure there will be drinks as well as art. If our winterless weather continues, Poste has a lovely thing going with its new winter cocktail menu out on the patio. Snuggle under a cosy blanket with your lover and sip some bacon-infused bourbon hot chocolate or mulled wine while fondue bubbles seductively. Yeah, that kind of artsy weekend.

While others have taken on the Primary election financial data, I spent yesterday combing through the financials of those Ward 5 Council candidates who have declared their intent to run. I’ve compiled my initial data into a read-only spreadsheet that you can use to dissect the race, and I welcome corrections either in the comments or via email. Using the campaign filings with the Office of Campaign Finance, I have examined closely the filings of the 12 candidates who returned the forms to OCF.  I’m surprised that there are at least eight who have taken out petitions who have yet to return file with the OCF, but there are provisions that would allow a candidate not to return forms right away.

There are four campaigns that have made efforts to fundraise in the first reporting period, representing approximately 20 days of fundraising time.  Delano Hunter leads the pack with just over $20,000 across 119 donors, followed by Kenyan McDuffie with just under $17,000 across 76 donors.  Frank Wilds made a $10,000 loan to his own campaign, but tracked no donations. Bloomingdale ANC Commissioner John Salatti was fourth with $7,600 or so.  No other candidate raised more than $550.

Looking at the data in detail, it was surprising to see so much of Delano Hunter’s contributions come from outside of the District, with more than half his donors coming from zip codes outside of DC, despite some clerical errors in his filing that lists DC state marks for many addresses in Colorado, Georgia, Maryland and other states. More than 55% of the money for Hunter came from outside of DC.  Kenyan McDuffie showed similarly strong fundraising capability, bringing in over $10,000 in online donations during the three days before the filing. In addition, McDuffie lead the candidates for donations coming from both DC residents and Ward 5 residents in both donor numbers and total dollars raised. McDuffie did receive approximately 40% of his funding from outside of the District, to the tune of nearly $7,000.

Coming in fourth, John Salatti saw donations from primarily his base in Bloomingdale, with few donations coming from outside the reach of the 20001 zip code that contains Bloomingdale.

When it came to corporate money in the race, Hunter lead the pack, accepting 10 corporate donations totaling over $4,000, including bundled donations from the owners of the controversial Stadium Club gentleman’s club, and former Prince George’s County Executive Wayne Curry and his Consulting practice.  John Salatti was tied for second in corporate donations, which included a pair of bundled donations from a construction management firm and its owners, and a Development firm and its owner. McDuffie’s campaign said in a press release that they will not accept bundled donations in this race.

Full Disclosure: I am a volunteer for the Kenyan McDuffie Campaign, and a financial contributor to the campaign. No information not given to the public is available in this article.

Happy groundhog day! Pop out of your cubicle burrow and head into the daylight to grab some food truck grub.

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The sophisticated home decor flash-sale site One Kings Lane hosted its first event in Washington, DC last week – a party celebrating their “Tastemaker Tag Sale” collaboration with Thornwillow Press. Guests were invited to Thornwillow’s stationery salon in the lobby of the historic and lovely St Regis Hotel to preview the vintage and exclusive items curated by Thornwillow founder, Luke Ives Pontifell.


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courtesy of mosley.brian

The San Francisco-based One Kings Lane was happy to host a reception in Washington DC to meet guests from the design community who turned out to eye the interesting objects, romantic letterpress paper-goods, and beautifully bound books. This has been a strong market for their site which often skews to sales of modern or globally-influenced takes on classic decor – which seems very DC.

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courtesy of mosley.brian

We Love DC – Thornwillow – 01-26-12 07
courtesy of mosley.brian

We Love DC – Thornwillow – 01-26-12 09
courtesy of mosley.brian

This past weekend I saw magic. No I’m not talking about a win from the hapless Wizards or miracles of that sort- I’m talking about a real magic show with magicians, tricks, and illusions. However this show did not have the showmanship of Houdini, the polish of Copperfield, or the rock and roll of Criss Angel. No the trio of Dennis Diamond, Daryl Hannah, and Louis Magic that star in Arena Stage’s Elephant Room look like a cheesy act that’s more Reno than Vegas.

Not only is there magic, but mustaches and mullets as well.

The look and feel of Elephant Room ties into a line said during the show: “We have nothing new to show you.”

With magic’s biggest secrets since revealed, showmanship is now as important as the illusions themselves. The Diamond/Hannah/Magic wolfpack provides a refreshing new take on the magic show. It is essentially the anti-David Blaine. These men aren’t sporting hard bodies or designer jeans, they look more like extras off the set of Napoleon Dynamite than someone that would lock himself in a ball full of water.

And that’s what makes the show so much fun to watch.

The banter is campy, the slapstick is goofy (think The Lonely Island doing The Creep), the tone is almost satiric. It all comes together to create a highly entertaining performance.

As for the illusions, they are of the small slight of hand variety. Some moments are truly impressive, like the good ol’ sawing a women in half trick or reading the minds of audience members, and some need further refinement. I spotted a metal rod in a levitation bit early in the show. The magicians admitted after the press performance that some of the tricks still need some polishing.

Regardless Elephant Room is a good bet for a fun night out. At an hour and 15 minutes it’s shorter than watching Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and is the perfect start to any night out on the town.

This merry band of magicians have come a long way since first meeting at a magic conference in Buffalo. With an act like theirs, it looks as if they should have plenty of travels ahead.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Elephant Room performs at Arena Stage’s Kogod Cradle through February 26th. Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is located at 1101 6th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024. Closest Metro stop: Waterfront (Green line). For more information call 202-488-3300.

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Welcome to February, food truckers. Hit the streets and get some food truck grub. Check out our strEATS-powered map to see where they are today.

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