Category: Washington DC

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!

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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).

Continue reading “Putting myself through pain: part 2” →

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.

 

Continue reading “Ron Mueck is the coolest artist i've seen in a long time” →

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.

Got the Ass Stamina, See All Best Picture Options

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body_bgrd.jpgIt’s a pretty good year of movies and the five films up for Academy Award for Best Picture are all worth seeing. They are Babel, Little Miss Sunshine, The Departed, The Queen, and Letters of Iwo Jima.

If you have missed some or all of them, you’re in luck because AMC theaters is doing a 1-time event where they’ll play all 5 movies back-to-back. The first film starts at 11 am and there’s a 15-25 min break between each one as well as unlimited popcorn and soda for the entire day.

Over Christmas, my cousin and i did 4 movies in a row (Rocky, We Are Marshall, Apacalypto, Dreamgirls) and it was pretty rough on the ol’ kisser, but this is a better lineup so it could prove be a little less painful. Personally, i’d go to rewatch The Departed (my favorite of the year), see Babel, Iwo Jima, and Queen and then skip out on Little Miss Sunshine. Who’s with me?

DC Metro of the Future

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Dean posted this on his site, and i thought it was worth a re-posting.

I love mass transit. I think it makes the world a better place and makes city life more vibrant and personal. There’s nothing worse than having all a city’s residents drive around in cars – or “metal coffins” (to quote Bodhi). DC is making an effort to expand the metro to reach farther out into the burbs and make it easier to get from Bethesda to Silver Spring.

  1. The purple line will go from Silver Spring to Bethesda and make it much easier to get “across town” which right now is always a traffic nightmare
  2. The Silver line will let you get to Tysons or Dulles. If anyone’s been on 66 during rush hour, you know that this is about 10 years too late. But it is still nice
  3. They want to extend the Green line out to BWI, which would be nice, but they already have a train that goes out there. Maybe they should just increase the frequency of the train?

I would also like them to add more stops on each line, especially going out on the red line. In NY, there’s a stop every 5 blocks (1/4 mile) and in DC it is more like every mile. More stops would make it more convenient and usable. But, as always, it’s a money issue.

What would you like to see the metro do for you to use it?

Dead Men (and Horses) in DC Parks

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Living in DC, we get our fair share of circles to drive around. On many of them there are statues of war heros. I rarely check out who they are and what they did, but ever since i read this little fact i’ve been much more interested:

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

The two guys near me are George McClellan on Connecticut Ave (photo to the left) who was a badass. He was a general in the Civil War and the Democratic presidential candidate opposite Lincoln (in 1864). He was injured in battle. I know because i see that the leg is up.

The other one near me on Mass Ave is Philip Sheridan. He took 5 years to graduate West Point (George McC finished 2nd in his class). His’s first combat command led him to win the critical Battle of Chattanooga in 1863. Grant put him in charge of cavalry for the Army of the Potomac in 1864 and he led the raid on Richmond that ended in the death of Confederate general Jeb Stuart. He became commander of the Army of the Potomac in 1864. In this capacity he led the army to battle at Appomattox and, with Grant, compelled Gen. Robert E. Lee to surrender, ending the Civil War. In 1884, he succeeded Sherman as commander in chief of the Army. Not too shabby.

The statue was designed by the guy who did Mt. Rushmore and the horse (named Rienzi) is famous too and on display at American History Museum.

There is a site (here) that will tell you who is who on the horses in and round DC. If you have a home in DC, it’s worth checking out.

I'll Be Rockin' This Saturday

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A lot of people have already commented on yesterday’s Bob Dlyan post and while i love listening to Dylan, my mind is really focused on the concert i’m going to tomorrow. I’ll be attending Virgin Fest in Baltimore.

Check out this lineup: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Killers, Gnarls Barkley, Scissor Sisters, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Raconteurs, The Who, The New Pornographers, Wolfmother, Thievery Corporation, and The Flaming Lips.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V76Vq1HMXIk&eurl=]

One of the bands i’m most excited about is The Scissor Sisters. If you haven’t heard of this band – let me enlighten you (from wikipedia)

The core of the band formed in 2000 when Shears (singer) and Babydaddy (keyboard/song-writer) met while attending college in Kentucky. After moving to NYC, the duo met Ana Matronic at a cabaret on Halloween, when she was dressed as an Andy Warhol factory reject, and Shears was dressed as a “back-alley abortion”. The group soon began playing gigs and were signed to independent record label “A Touch of Class”, and recorded a single, “Electrobix”, which had as its B-side a disco/glam cover “Comfortably Numb”.

Their cover of “Comfortably Numb” became noticed in the UK when it was picked up by underground DJs in electroclubs. The song later got the attention of British label Polydor, who signed them to a contract.

The group’s first single for the label, “Laura“, had a limited release in Laura single for Sister Sister's 2003 (reaching #54 on UK charts), and received little attention. Their first hit was in 2004 with the re-release of “Comfortably Numb” (reaching #10 in the UK). This success was followed by fan favourite “Take Your Mama” (#17 in the UK), a re-release of “Laura” (#12 in the UK), the ballad “Mary” (#14 in the UK), and the gay/hedonist anthem “Filthy/Gorgeous” (#5 in the UK).

All the singles came from the self-titled debut album Scissor Sisters, which reached #1 on the UK albums chart and became the best selling album of 2004, beating Keane‘s Hopes And Fears by just 582 copies. As of 2006, it is the 10th biggest-selling album of the 21st century, and the 51st biggest-selling of all time in the UK. Several media outlets have noted that Scissor Sisters stick out like a sore thumb’ on the list of artists who have sold over 2 million copies of an album in the UK in the 21st century — the others being James Blunt, Robbie Williams, Keane, Dido, Coldplay and Norah Jones — all artists considered ‘mainstream’ or ‘middle of the road’, as opposed to the Scissor Sisters’ brash and controversial image.

I will say that i think the songs rock. Here are some of my favorite songs from their first album. Click on them to play, right+click to download the mp3: Mary, Filthy/Gorgeous, Laura, Comfortably Numb
They also have a new album coming out and you can listen to their entire new album on MySpace here.

Writing about this band reminds of a passage i recently read in Chuck Klosterman’s new book (Chuck Klosterman IV) when he breaks down all rock music in one paragraph. He says,

Rock music did not exist until the release of Meet the Beatles in January 1964. From that time until 1970, the Beatles were simultaneously the most artistically gifted and commercially successfulBook cover of CK4 rock artists on the planet. Then they broke up. And at that point, rock split into two opposing ideologies; there were now two kinds of music. The prime directive of the first kind of rock was to be meaningful and important; the prime directive of the second was to entertain people and move product. The first category comprises elements (Springsteen, punk rock, early U2, Chris Carrabba, etc.) that followed a template built by Dylan in the 1960’s. The second category comprises things (Elton John, Disco, everything the Stones did post-Some Girls, Michael Jackson et. al.) that followed the path KISS chose when they formed in 1973. Their era includes 2 exceptions, which are Led Zepplin and Prince; everything else fits into either category A or B. And that is the entire history of rock music.

Elton John has actually written a few tracks on Scissor Sister’s new album Tah-dah so they have to be considered a category B band. Thus, if you look at my Bob Dylan post and this one, i think i’ve been comprehensive and pretty much covered both A and B. Now i can focus the rest of the weekend on just rocking out at Virgin Fest.