My life just hasn’t been the same since the Campus Progress Free-Food-A-Thon this summer. Something’s been missing. Not the sirloin steak, per se, but rather the fact that the sirloin steak was free. There’s an indescribable feeling I get eating a meal I didn’t pay a dime for. Apparently I’m not the only one. An article about freegans, “a growing subculture of people who have reduced their spending habits and live off consumer waste” is creeping its way to the top of the Los Angeles Times most-emailed list. You don’t have to read far to get graphic. Here’s the lede:
For lunch in her modest apartment, Madeline Nelson tossed a salad made with shaved carrots and lettuce she dug out of a Whole Foods dumpster. She flavored the dressing with miso powder she found in a trash bag on a curb in Chinatown. She baked bread made with yeast plucked from the garbage of a Middle Eastern grocery store.
The passage about freegans carefully sifting through garbage outside D'Agostino's supermarket in Midtown Manhattan really transported me to another place. My happy place.
"Whoa, someone found the soy milk!" said Cindy Rosin, 31, a freelance graphics designer. "Good find."
What an amazing alternative to the unhealthy, un-conscientious places to eat in the "golden triangle" of DC! It's a bit pricey, but considering that Java Green offers creative all-organic all-vegan cuisine, offsets its carbon use through windpower, and uses all bio-degradable lunchware, it's well worth the price. Unfortunately, Java Green is a bit out of my way for weekday lunch, but I finally made it in this week to try it out. The line was out the door and the tables were filled - I was happy to see an organic vegan place doing so well and hopeful that the food might be equally exciting.
The summer is winding down, and for those of us who are staying in DC and starting to pay tuition bills again, free concerts become especially handy...
ok, whenever I see or think the words "pasta mia," I sing them to the tune of "Casta Diva" Listen to Maria Callas sing it:
Paaaaaaaaaa-aa-aa-AA-aa-aastaa Miiiiiiii-ii-II-ii-aa - so beautiful!
If you've never been to Pasta Mia in Adam's Morgan, it's totally worth the trip, the wait, and the crowd. It may not be the best pasta you'll ever eat, but I'm almost positive it will be the best pasta you eat in dc, and I'm absolutely certain it will be the cheapest amazing pasta you'll ever eat in dc.
Pasta Mia is tiny, hard to get into, and a teensy bit stuck on itself. It's only open Tuesday through Saturday, and doesn't accept reservations. You should expect to wait at least an hour for a table, esp if you have 4 or more people in your party, but on a warm summer evening, what could be better than hanging out on Columbia listening to the awesome, erratic latin jams from the McDonald's on the corner?
Don't try to change anything on the menu - they basically won't let you. There are options for vegans and vegetarians, though, without having to change much. The house wine is great, and you should expect to leave with leftovers - the portions are gigantic!
Legend has it that only the owner is allowed to cook the pasta - which is why you can expect an extremely long wait for your food. So enjoy the wine and the fact that you finally got seated, and salivate in anticipation of the best pasta in DC.
1790 Columbia Road NW Washington, DC 20009 202/328-9114
Coming up tomorrow - 10 things I hate about you - eh...not so great but Heath Ledger is awfully cute and it is based on Shakespeare.
Friday, the 24th, Titus is playing
Monday, the 27th, looks especially interesting:
Le Ballon Rouge = The Red Balloon (34 min, Technicolor, 16mm) Crin Blanc = White Mane (40 min, black & white, 35mm) Le Voyage en Ballon = Stowaway in the Sky (84 min, Technicolor, Dyaliscope, 35mm)
Tuesday, a recent adaptation of Midsummer Night's Dream
RESERVATIONS may be made by phone, beginning one week before any given show. Call (202) 707-5677 during business hours (Monday-Friday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm). Reserved seats must be claimed at least 10 minutes before showtime, after which standbys will be admitted to unclaimed seats. All programs are free, but seating is limited to 60 seats. The Mary Pickford Theater is located on the third floor of the Library of Congress Madison building.
If you've never been, you should get a Library of Congress library card just because it feels so cool and because the main reading room is gorgeous. So, take the orange line over to Metro South or walk there from your oh-so-swank Hill office and catch a few more free movies before the summer ends!
And, in case you're back in DC doing another unpaid internship next summer, remember that this amazing free film series will start up again in April.
Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/visit/directions.html
After being the subject of many a Campus Progress blog post, it’s only fitting that the release of M.I.A.’s second album, Kala, which drops today be announced here. I was gonna say something like “I’m bout to go run to the store and grab a copy now!” but that would be a lie. I been had that bootleg all summer.
I guess the "social capital" blog is supposed to focus on fun social activities, but I've got one for you that's social, important, for-a-limited-time-only, and not the least bit fun.
You may not have heard about "No End in Sight," the latest and in my opinion best of the Iraq war documentaries, because it hasn't gotten much mainstream coverage yet and is only playing in one theater in the district (E st). I've seen a few others of the Iraq docs and this is by far the most thorough investigation of pre-war and current policy decisions with the most credible experts available, focusing less on the day-to-day experiences of the men and women in our military and the situation on the ground.
Through a series of interviews with high level current and former members of this administration and two combat veterans, Charles Ferguson attempts not to find a scapegoat for the failures of this seemingly endless war, but to give the viewer an honest, complicated look at the many crucial moments, bad decisions, and behind-the-scenes key players that led us to where we are now.
Bush, for example, is hardly mentioned or blamed for anything, with the focus instead being on Rumsfeld, Bremer, Cheney, and Wolfowitz. This is a key success of the film. Instead of harping on what we all already know - that Bush is untrustworthy, incompetent, and a puppet at best, Ferguson pushes past the valid and satisfying easy Bush bashing. He instead prods his interview subjects to reflect on their own roles in this spiraling conflict, which some are willing to do on camera, with great poignancy, but not others.
Ferguson also doesn't advocate for any particular position or agenda, which is another success of the film and which I hope will allow it to be perceived as I perceive it - non-partisan. He doesn't call for immediate withdrawal, he doesn't advocate the surge, and he doesn't offer much personal point of view on the situation at all, using abrupt camera close-ups and lingering shots to let his subjects determine the film's tone - cynical and hopeless - and fills the rest of the film with images most Americans don't want to see - dead and maimed Iraqi and American bodies and hordes of suddenly unemployed Iraqi civilians toting automatic weapons.
So, go see it with friends, and take yourselves out to a nice dinner beforehand so this social event feels less grim.
I've been trying to be more up on what's happening at Black Cat, a pretentious but lovable 14th st venue. If you've never been (perhaps if you work on the hill and wear a lot of khaki and/or pearls), don't be afraid! Check out one of their indie/obscure shows or amazing dance nights. This weekend looks like a good mix of bands, and I can wholeheartedly vouce for both Evil Disco and Mousetrap - some of the best dancing you can do in this city, in my opinion.
Tonight - A Place to Bury Strangers is said to be the loudest band in NYC. I'll stay home, but if you like carefully strung together, angsty noise, check them out. http://www.aplacetoburystrangers.com/
Thursday - catchy, percussive "Professor Murder" is music to dance to - the rhythm and instrumentation are fun, but the vocals are kind of yelly for my tastes. www.professormurder.com
Friday - EVIL DISCO!!! GO GO GO! http://www.myspace.com/evildiscodc
Saturday - MOUSETRAP!!! Dance yourself into a Brit Pop fever - and dress up a bit, this one tends to be hipster-heavy. Dance upstairs to Mousetrap or check out Deep Sang and friends for free in the back room: http://www.myspace.com/deejayholiday
Sunday - Never heard of them, but Glorytellers sound like something I'd like to check out - kind of easy listening, kind of folky, kind of pop - they're backstage for intimacy. And, they have a song in Italian on their myspace page which means extra points in my book. http://www.myspace.com/glorytellers
After almost a year of squealing at the rats that scurry throughout DC, I instinctively squirm at the sound of any furred-four legged creature rustling in the shadows. It’s always a little embarrassing when the beast turns out to be nothing but a harmless squirrel. Yet, in DC and other cities, it appears the vermin’s fluffy-tailed cousin might be something worth shrieking over.
A visiting friend of mine recently documented her assault by a DC squirrel on her camera phone. I was surprised to receive a cryptic text message while at work containing a photo of an unhinged squirrel with a zigzagged tail madly licking a food wrapper. The minor crime which started with a fight over an ice cream sandwich and ended with some small scratches took place on the President’s Park, behind the White House.
Apparently, according to urban legend, DC squirrels have been speculated as being, quite literally, on crack. London tabloids have written extensively on the subject, “…Crack squirrels are recognized phenomena in the US. They are known to live in parks frequented by addicts in New York and Washington DC.” The tabloids claim that it is a result of squirrels coming across the crack stashes that crack heads are hiding in front lawns.
So what if he threatened to kill Michael Moore? Clint Eastwood, while mayor of Carmel-by-the-sea California, repealed a long-standing law which forbade the eating of ice cream on the sidewalk. That's progress, people.
I'll leave it up to your conscience whether attending one of the few remaining screenings of the Clint Eastwood films which have been playing every Friday at Rosslyn will violate your principles. What gives me pause is not so much that he's threatened to kill Michael Moore but more that his characters are super-violent archetypes of idealized American masculinity. At least, in the early films. While I haven't seen any of his recent films, it looks like Letters from Iwo Jima might actually give the enemy (albeit an enemy that no longer exists in the American mind) a sympathetic human story. Ok, perhaps that really is progress. I would've seen the film so I could back these judgments up with something, but war movies give me the willies.
Somehow, I missed the memo on this summerlong series of the old Eastwood classics, but fortunately, they've saved the best for last if, like me, you're just finding out. Tonight's film, one I've never heard of, does very well on rottentomatoes.com.
But, the weather forecast for tonight looks horrible. Not only is it in the upper 90's (yet again!), but there's a chance of storms.
So, even if the weather ends up being bad, you've got three more chances to see The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Shane and Unforgiven. And a big thunderstorm tonight will give you an opportunity to see David and Layla, Talk to Me, or Ratatouille somewhere with a roof.
Tuesday’s entry highlighted all that DC has over New York City, however, the DC cupcake scene merits a blog post of its own.
On my last trip to nyc I was dragged to The Magnolia Bakery and told that waiting in the 45 minute line which wrapped around Bleecker and 11th streets was a small price to pay for the best cupcakes in the world. I was nearly salivating as I anxiously awaited the sweet crumbs that even impatient New Yorkers (including skeletal Sex and the City characters) are willing to stand in line for.
My experience at the Magnolia Bakery was anti-climatic. DC has crappy pizza, so-so sushi, and absolutely no place to get a decent bagel. However, hungry Manhattanites willing to go to extremes to get a quality sugar fix are missing out. Magnolia’s cupcakes are good, but they don’t even compare to a DC cupcake.
An article is up today on MSN's website about the difference between myspace and facebook, with a slant. Who uses the one over the other? Not an unusual question, especially for market reasons. But when that question is based on class, my discomfort begins to set in. When I initially saw the article, I decided to click on it because I thought the question of class had more to do with a person's year in college (senior, class of 2007). Silly me. Of course it had more to do with financial classification. And according to these particular researchers, rich, more affluent young folks are on facebook, while the poor and working class, to use their terms, stick to myspace. They go on to site some statistics about the recent increase and decrease in membership from both social networks. Although there has been a surge in membership on facebook, the stats they provide do not seem to reflect class; they basically say that facebook is growing in popularity. There information comes from a researcher who interviewed 190 people to get there information, and of course, they don't say what the class or racial dynamic is of this sample group or how it relates to the outcome.
All and all, this article lacked real evidence that any of what is being said is true. It deals more with ad revenue than anything else. To attach a class zoning to millions of people who use these social networks based on seedy evidence kind of sucks, for lack of a more appropriate word. And it wouldn't be such a big deal if there weren't so many of us who use these networks to communicate with others, network professionally and socially, and honestly, manage our lives. Employers are using them to do background checks now. You can investigate people you are in relationships with, and so on. You get the idea.
As a person who comes from a working class family, I have never had a myspace account. Shocking, I'm sure. I only have facebook. Most of my friends, from mixed incomes, have both or only myspace. I have many upper class friends that spend money to "pimp their page" so that is looks exactly like they want it to. Although facebook is changing, you don't need to pay to have features added. I think that alone would and does attrack students on a strict budget. In my experience, many people choose to use one or the other based on age or level of school in college. When I joined facebook, I had maybe 40 people as friends because most of the other students, especially those on the west coast, didn't really use it. A year later, those same people became members of facebook and wanted to add me as a friend because they were tired of complaining about how outrageous myspace had become. They said they were "too grown" for all of that.
In any case, facebook is growing, whether that has to do with classism or not. Because of that growth, it is changing dramatically, and many of us are ready to move on to the next thing when it starts up before that gets played out too. (Remember Black Planet?)
So what are your thoughts?
I personally like facebook better simply because the people you have as friends are much more likely to be people you actually know. What a thought! Friends you are actually friends with. I know other people really enjoy the creativity of myspace. What do you think?
I yelped with excitement when I discovered this DC Haunted House Tour just three weeks before I'm moving away to an older, presumably more haunted city. I've taken many ghost tours in Savannah and Williamsburg and absolutely love a good legend and fright! Tonight should be a good night for a swampy tour of the district, especially if we have a good tour guide, which can totally make or break the experience. If only they had drinking ghost tours...
After finding this tour, I did a little googling around about DC ghosts and naturally came across the "true" story of The Excorcist, which is the source of much speculation and legend among college students and DC residents. I found this fascinating article about one guy's journey to understand the historical context of the movie: http://www.strangemag.com/exorcistpage1.html
Join me tonight from 7-9 for a tour of DC's most haunted historical homes! It's only $10! More info can be found at: http://www.washingtonwalks.com/tours/haunted-houses.shtml
Summon up your courage and meet your tour guide (and me!) at the 27th st exit of the Farragut West metro station at 7pm. If you can't make it tonight, go any Wednesday, or try the "Capital Hauntings" tour on friday nights.
Progressive Intern Brownbag with Economist Dean Baker
The Progressive Intern Network Brownbag Series Presents:
The Conservative Nanny State With Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research
Dean Baker, the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research will be talking about his book, "The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer" (free download available at www.conservativenannystate.org)
As the summer winds down, DC begins to empty out. The metro is a little less crowded and the streets of Adams Morgan are starting to clear up. Meanwhile, I’m losing friends like flies as they embark on their regular migration up to New York City. Yet, as I resist the magnetic pull towards NYC I remind myself of all that DC has over New York’s glimmering island:
The Metro vs. the Subway Looking at the at the NYC subway map is like staring into a bowl of noodle soup. No matter where I go, I always plan on either accidentally getting on the wrong train or boarding an unmarked express train into my time schedule. What makes the NYC subway even more maddening is the absence of a time screen advising commuters when their train will arrive. A certain peace of mind comes with knowing and accepting the fact that my train won’t be arriving for another 20 minutes, as opposed to the mental and physical agony of standing in the un-air-conditioned and poorly ventilated NYC metro and drowning in my own sweat for what seems like an eternity.
Snow Days DC is hot in the summer—but NYC is hardly ever more than a few degrees behind us. However, in the winter a few degrees can be the difference between freezing temperatures and an Indian summer. Not to mention, half of DC shuts down with even the slightest forecast of wintry weather—instilling a child-like optimism in the hopeful hearts of office space workers all winter long. Read More »
This is going to be fun. Jamaica is celebrating 45 years of freedom this year. To commemorate this event, the Embassy of Jamaica in DC is celebrating with events all weekend long here in DC and Maryland. Events are scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But the Festival is going to be the show! It is free to attend, which everyone knows is so important to me. There will be Reggae performances by SHAGGY and other groups. Here is the link: http://www.embassyofjamaica.org/events.htm
This is the basic information for Sunday.
Independence Sunday Market An all-day Jamaican festival Live Music including > Jerry D > DJ Sprang International > Image Band > Bare Essentials > Bob Andy > Shaggy
Jamaican Food, Art & Craft on sale
Sunday, 5 August, 1pm Gardens of the Organization of American States 17th St. and Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC FREE ADMISSION
Talk about an eventful evening. As my time here is winding down, I am continually feeling the urge to do more and see more, even though I am tired and my budget is exhausted as well. But trucking around the city still seemed like a good idea after a very relaxing afternoon in the National Sculpture Garden for “Jazz in the Garden.” By the way, every Friday from 5:00-8:30pm, there is a jazz band or group that performs for free. Bring a blanket and relax after a long week at work. Check it out.
But back to my evening. I am an eclectic person, and it just became much more apparent to my friends how true that is. After we relaxed with our jazz ensemble, we walked the half mile to the Washington Monument, which I had never taken interest in before because it is the white phallic symbol of the US, but I digress. We took pictures and enjoyed the beautiful view of the city we had. Carried by the warm, night breeze, we ventured down to the World War II Memorial and took pictures of our state stones.
However, surrounded by all these statues and tributes to the U.S. armed forces and other historical deviances, I felt that it was time to move out of the tourist space and into the real DC, where people actually live. Where else would I go first? U street! A quick stop at Twin Jazz found another jazz band cutting up, but with a $25 minimum, I wasn’t feeling it. Don’t they know interns like good music too? So we moved on, just three doors down to the 14th and U Café which had their own jazzy thing going on, with no cover or minimum. My friends and I headed inside and soaked up the sounds as chi-lattes were being served. We decided to escape a little and headed back to a small room that looks like it had once been someone’s office or study. Surrounded by pin cushion leather and fabric chairs, dusty books, a park bench and mustard yellow distressed walls, the atmosphere catered to our whims, and we settled in. I pulled out my weekly City Paper, which is really good for finding stuff to do if you think there is nothing going on, which is hardly ever true in DC. Check it out. http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
My friend pulled out a book she needs to finish reading by the end of the summer so she can begin her thesis, while my other friend pulled out paper and pen to begin what is sure to be a great poem one day.
After spending about an hour there, we closed the place down as the last customers and headed up to Adams Morgan for some $5 Jumbo Slice pizza. Although you could catch the bus, the walk is always worth it to me. I like the vibe. Plus, the walk makes me feel slightly less guilty about my consumption for the evening. By the way, Pizza Mart is the best in my opinion on that block.
Deciding that we really wanted some more quality time with books, we headed up to the Red Line to go to Kramer’s Bookstore, which stays open 24hrs on the weekend (how great is that!). Located in Dupont Circle, Kramer’s is an off beat bookstore, café, bar and restaurant. We asked to sit in their outdoor seating and enjoyed the warm air, nachitos and peach cobbler. At 3am, we were done and called it a night, only to remember that we had a rigorous walk from Dupont Circle to Foggy Bottom because the train stopped running. It was fine though. No rain or summer death heat? I can get down with that. Needless to say, we all slept as soon as we got inside. What an evening! If only all weekend nights were like that.
Hey all, sorry about the lateness of this week's This Weekend - I've been a bit consumed with all the crazy drama that's been going down on the House floor. It's been some great entertainment, especially the bit where the voting machine malfunctioned and there was a forty minute floor fight about how to handle it. As one staffer in my office put it, "I'm just waiting for Mr. Drier to say that the voting machine is a series of tubes."
This weekend, however, there are a few interesting things to do. Washington is getting a little sleepy now that we're in recess month, but I recommend:
Sorted, tonight at the Black Cat. It's $5 and they're spinning britpop and indie dance, perhaps the perfect combination.
Labyrinth, playing at various times for the next week at the E Street Cinema. Normal absurd movie rates apply. See the David Bowie Muppet freakout musical, preferably under the influence of...something.
seriously girlfriend, if you didn't get enough prince this week (and u knowz i di-int), you best get yourself to the Cat this Saturday for DJ Dredd's Prince vs. Outkast dance partay. Its exactly what it sounds like, and these are always fun. I went to Prince vs. Pharell on my birthday this year (when was that Abby? oh, you know, always) and, to my surprise, Pharell killed it hands down. But then, including everything he's produced and only marginally contributed vocals to, its easy to see why. But its not really a competition because, lets face it, with a full night of alternating Prince and Outkast tracks, everybody wins. And by "wins" i mean grinds up on you like a funky, purple velvet-wearing, john-waters mustachioed, 4foot11 dog in heat. yeeuh.
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