Category: Places

Posts that are about a special place

Beer Scavenger Hunt: Capital Hill Edition

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We had a great hunt this weekend. In fact, it was the biggest turnout we’ve ever had for a hunt. It clocked in at over 55 people!

huntpic.jpg

Had a bunch of teams attend, such as:

  1. Team Mckendr: Mairead brought two 6’7″ dudes who were truly able to pimp out their hiding spots
  2. Team Davidson: Bryan Hozack + team. As usual Bryan was incredibly prepared and crushed the hunt.
  3. Team Newbies: Chloe Lewis, Meggy and Roy. They actually joined Team Pug for a super team. For newbies, they were great.
  4. Team Home Field Advantage: Erika, ScottyJ, Krug, Hercey. Great performance by the veterans.
  5. The Favorites. Team Just Graduated: Justin + GW team. All hype. For such a small team, they were pretty slow and put in rookie hiding spots. There’s always this spring.
  6. Team NY: Jules, Taco, Abbey. They joined with Team Pug for also. They get the MVP though for making the trip
  7. Team DJ Afterwards: Tiger, Daniel T, and Tom. They were rockstars because, well, they are rockstars.
  8. Team Pug: Danny, Percey and MPL (and eventually Samol and Shwabe). Any team with a dog gets huge bonus points.
  9. Team Loyola: Julia Turner Team (Julia and Molly). They get major points for just showing up. Although i think they were a bit in awe of the whole experience.
  10. Team Ohio State: Jenny led the charge to the most enthusiastic team i’ve seen
  11. Team No-Show: Molly Hill, Noah, Todd S., and Sara Pescatello. They get no points

The hunt’s best clue was:  “In the Church courtyard, the sack you’ll see next to the erect pipe is not the testicles of a priest but rather the container of some lovely spirits.”

Capital Hill proved to one of the best locations in DC for a hunt.  I was residential but also had some good stores and lots of spots for hanging out with a 12-pack.

Any ideas for where the hunt this spring should be?

Putting myself through pain: part 2

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I ran The Nation’s Triathlon this weekend.  A fun event for those watching and a painful, but rewarding event for those like me who are dumb

We started on the waterfront in Georgetown at 7am on Saturday. The fire boats in the Potomac were spraying water all over at the beginning. I’ve never seem them before – i must say i think they look pretty cool.  The water was really warm (75 degrees) and not that disgusting.  It felt just like a regular lake.

Just so you know how far it is. I entered right by that “Swim Exit” sign and swam to the bridge (in the distance) and back. Yeah, that’s right. To the bridge and back. Also notice how everyone else had a wet suit which makes it easier to swim. That would have been nice, but i like to think of it as cheating (only b/c i don’t have one).

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Ron Mueck is the coolest artist i've seen in a long time

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Finally, a truly modern sculptor.

Ron Mueck is a London-based photo-realist artist. Born in Australia to parents who were toy makers, he labored on children’s television shows for 15 years (like Fraggle Rock) before working in special effects for such films as Labyrinth, a 1986 fantasy epic starring David Bowie.

Eventually Mueck concluded that photography destroys the physical presence of the original object, and so he turned to fine art and sculpture. In the early 1990’s, still in his advertising days, Mueck was commissioned to make something highly realistic, and was wondering what material would do the trick. Latex was the usual, but he wanted something harder, more precise. Luckily, he saw a little architectural decor on the wall of a boutique and inquired as to the nice, pink stuff’s nature. Fiberglass resin was the answer, and Mueck has made it his bronze and marble ever since.

His work is lifelike but not life size, and being face to face with the tiny, gossiping Two Women (2005) or the monumental woman In Bed (2005) is an unforgettable experience. The Big Man is in DC and i’ll definitely go check it out soon.

 

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Klosterman Reading

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I went to a reading tonight of Chuck Klosterman at Olsson’s in DC.  As expected, he was articulate and very funny.  He read a passage from his new book, Chuck Klosterman IV, and he describes how the book came to be.  When he was on a book tour for Killing Yourself to Live (his 3rd book), he encountered all sorts of journalism students and aspiring writers and many of them had never read his stuff and asked where they could get a copy of his previous writings. That’s how he got the idea of packaging up all his previous works and selling them as a very cheap paperback.  He didn’t want his best fans to feel ripped off so he put in the novella at the end and the few tidbits/observations.  (Note: he also remarked that he’s finished his 5th book which is a fictional novel about a person in North Dakota)

He reading was from CK4 and it was about how to find and deal with your nemesis and your arch-enemy:

What you need is (a) one quality nemesis and (b) one archenemy.  These are the two most important mechanisms in any human’s life.  We measure ourselves against our nemeses, and we long to destroy our archenemies. They are the catalysts for why we do everything.

How do i know the difference between my nemesis and my archenemy? Here is the short answer: You kind of like your nemesis, despite the fact you despise him.  You will always have drinks with your nemesis.  you would attend the funeral of your nemesis, and -privately- you might shed a tear over her or her passing.  However, you would never choose to have a cocktail with your archenemy, unless you were attempting to spike the gin with arsenic. If you were to perish, your archenemy would dance on your grave, and then he’d burn down your house and molest your children.  You hate your archenemy so much that you keep your hatred secret, because you do not want your archenemy to have the satisfaction of being hatred.  

If this distinction seems confusing, just ask your girlfriend to explain it in detail; women have always understood the nemesis-archenemy dichotomy…. 

Triathlons: The Beginning

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DSC01072This morning i took out my new bike (named: Commodore Williams) for his debut ride and did 20 miles around Hains Point. It was pretty damn fun. So fun, in fact that i just registered for my first triathlon which will take place on July 7. The distance: 1 mile swim, 27 mile bike, 5 mile run. So to recap, i don’t ever swim, i just rode today for the first time, and i have exactly 1 month to figure out how to do both really well. I find myself identifying more and more with the Hains Point Awakening statue (pic on the left). Whatever, bring it. Thankfully, i have a great adviser and jockstrap (i.e. athletic supporter) in Liz to guide me through it. (Also, did you know that they’re moving The Awakening statue soon? Wtf!)

A man was out jogging in the forest one day when a frog called out to him and said, “If you kiss me I’ll turn into a beautiful princess.” He bent over, picked up the frog, and put it in his pocket.

The frog spoke up again and said, “If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will tell everyone how smart and brave you are and how you are my hero.” The man took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it, and returned it to his pocket.

The frog spoke up again and said, “If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I’ll stay with you for a year and do ANYTHING you want.” Again the man took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it, and put it back into his pocket.

Finally the frog asked, “What’s the matter? I’ve told you I’m a beautiful princess, that I’ll stay with you for a year and do anything you want. Why won’t you kiss me?”

The man replied, “Look, I’m a Triathlete. I don’t have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog is cool.”

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DC Beer Scavenger Hunt

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We had another great beer scavenger hunt on Saturday. Over 40 people from 6 states participated in the 12th hunt since the creation of the beer scavenger hunt. The highlight was watching Matt L. eat Mexican straight off the plate and the lowest point was losing my phone and keys (phone was returned by a homeless man). I encourage anyone in any city to implement this festival of brews – it is always one of the best days of the year. Details on how to do so are here (click). If you do have a hunt, let me know and i’ll get it up on the beerscavengerhunt.com site.

Fortuitous Beauty of New York

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According to Franz (the European academic) in Unbearable Lightness of Being

Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it. We’ve always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. That’s what enabled Western man to spend decades building a Gothic cathedral or a Renaissance piazza. The beauty of New York rests on a completely different base. It’s unintentional. It arose independent of human design, like a stalagmitic cavern. Forms which are in themselves quite ugly turn up fortuitously, without design, in such incredible surroundings that they sparkle with a sudden wondrous poetry

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Impressive Pong Skills

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While i’ll never truly endorse “Beirut” as a legitimate form of pong, i do have to give this guy a lot of credit. Or maybe i should feel bad for him with all the time he must have put in to make this happen. I wish i would have seen more consecutive sinks instead of 1-time shots b/c he could have just sat there for hours trying to get it to work. That said, they are good shots.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFZevw1AHZs]

For those of you who care, i’m a much bigger fan of beer pong with paddles. This is a game that requires more skill, is more fun to play, and much higher stakes (i.e. more beer).

Changes Coming for Timberwolves

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As many of you know, i’m a huge Minnesota sports fan.  I love the T-Wolves and it’s been frustrating for me to watch their season fall apart this year.  Also, there are a lot of rumors about what’s going to happen with Garnett after the season ends.  We have a great group of young players – Foye, McCants, Craig Smith – and we could get a lottery pick in the upcoming draft.  So, we could have a group of great youngsters or some good young player + KG coming back next year.

This ESPN interview with KG i just read echoed those thoughts (interview here). Here’s the final word from KG.  There will be some major changes coming and frankly, i’m looking forward to them.

Marc Stein. So if you or the Wolves choose not to pursue a trade this summer, do you think we’ll still see some major changes with this franchise?

Kevin Garnett: There’s got to be. F— yeah. I think [head coach] Randy Wittman would echo that, so it’s not just me.