this is my blog

I was there....

2010-01-29T08:02:00.000-08:00

July 09. I wont forget it. Thanks Conan!

Staggering works of heartbreaking genius

2010-01-29T07:44:00.000-08:00

Many of you may not know I am an avid pursuer of the visual arts. Please take a moment to see some of my better works and let me know what you think

CHRIS SURPRISED: an emotional discovery

Painted Memories: Gibbs in Grouch, Stu-Cat, Cat-Stu

This Made My Day

2009-11-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis from Between Two Ferns

GREEN the lean

2009-10-06T07:39:00.000-07:00

According to wikipedia "a Lean-to is a free standing structure of three walls and a sloping roof with an open side sheltered away from the prevailing winds and rains. Often it is a rough structure made of logs or unfinished wood and used as a camping shelter."

I constructed my first lean-to when I was 13 years old. I was on my vision quest under the tuteledge of my Shaman guru Archduke Francesco Frederique. It was nightfall and I was about an hour due east of Puerto de Luna, New Mexico and the desert winds began to kick up.... I needed shelter. Remembering the words of Frederique and summoning all of the might of my newly found power animal I began to gather brush and construct the first of many many lean-tos that vision quest.

That night I built more than a three walled shelter made of unfinished logs and wood, I built what I would later realize was the foundation of a movement...

Though everyone knows that Lean-tos are adequate structures for protecting one from the elements, many people fail to see the environmental damage they wreck on our planet. My project is to build the world's first self sustainable lean-to or "green lean" as I like to call it. It is my hope that with this project I can kick off a revolution that will shake up the long stagnant self-constructed three walled hut industry for the better. But I cannot do it alone, I need your help and support. In the coming months I will track my progress as well as the pitfalls of taking such action but I am confident in the end we can all "GREEN the LEAN!"and in turn make the world a better, greener, healthier, 3 walled place.

But in all seriousness please Support my friend Kate's Project http://yurtalert.com/

Mad Men on Sesame Street

2009-10-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

More proof that anything is better in Muppet form:

Its no surprise to anyone that knows me that I really enjoy Muppets. I know this is a pretty common feeling among anyone that grew up in the 80s and enjoyed the Muppet Show, Muppet Babies, Fraggle Rock and Sesame Street (sick website btw!), but I think my love goes way beyond mere admiration or childhood idolization.

What I'm trying to say is I think I really want to become a Muppet. Not like physically, you know...constructed out of felt and wire...but like have a Muppet of myself that I could Muppeteer whenever I wanted. For example, if people came over to visit I would really like it if I could pull out my Muppet, jump behind a couch, and carry on a conversation with them through my Muppet with them talking directly to the Anthony Muppet as if nothing is out of the ordinary. Kobe and Lebron have them, notable douche Kanye West has one, so why not me?!

Naturally, I did some investigative work and discovered this dream of mine is not so far off. Apparently, The Jim Henson Company regularly solicits applications from people to become full fledged Muppeteers. To fulfill a life long childhood dream all I would have to do is submit a 5 to 10 minute tape showing my work with puppets as well as a range of voices I could preform. I really feel like I could nail this if I worked hard enough. So please I'm asking you my friends to help me out on this one....I know we can make it happen.

Little Miss Whiskey's Pub Quiz CHAMPS!

2009-09-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

Full Set http://www.flickr.com/photos/32204358@N08/sets/72157622384827746/

The last few bits

2009-09-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

Stu finally got home from Europe and brought along my camera cord so I could upload the last of my pictures. For those of you that dont know, my camera was crushed somewhere between Paris and Eindhoven and I had to kinda point and shoot for my last few pictures. This is what I came up with

Cool people with glasses

2009-09-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

Recently I got some new frames and have been wearing my glasses around at first I was really concerned at how people would look at me differently with my specs on. But after a few weeks I realized some of the coolest people in history wear glasses, Here are my examples.

Jay-Z

Phillip Seymor Hoffman

James Dean

Elvis Costello

Drew Powell

Paris Day 2

2009-09-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

The Louvre

2009-08-21T07:24:00.000-07:00

One thing I had heard over and over when telling people I was visiting Paris was that the line for the Louvre would really suck ...So ingeniously Stu and I decided to go straight to the louvre as soon as we got into the city and were first in line. The Museum was amazing, there are so many works of art and historical artifacts its impossible to see in one trip. I think we did a pretty good job anyway, Here are a few of my favorite pics.

Paris in 2 days: Day 1

2009-08-17T00:10:00.000-07:00

I just got back from my weekend trip to Paris and it was such a great time. On Friday Stu, Hendrick and I spent the day in Amsterdam and caught the 12:00 night bus to Paris and arrived in the city around 7:30. For having such little time we were able to see so much. Our first stop was the Louvre (where we were first in line)to see the Mona Lisa. We then met up with Stu's friends Arnaud and Abdu who showed us Les Halles, Notre Dame, the Jardin des Tuileries, The Champs-Elysees, the Arch de Triumph, and the Eiffel Tower. That night we packed a few baguettes, cheeses and bottles of wine and had a picnic in the Park Montsouris while watching a movie. Despite falling asleep and apparently snoring through the last half of the movie it was a pretty incredible time!

In Holland

2009-08-13T16:15:00.000-07:00

This morning I landed in Amsterdam around 7:30 and took the train to Centraal station so I could do a little bit of tourist stuff before I met Stu in Eindhoven. I rented a bike for about 10 Euro and made my way down to the Museum district to see the Van Gough Museum. Around 3 I headed to Eindhoven caught up on some sleep and then met all of stus Friends at a Rooftop house party. I dont think Ive ever met so many French people in my life, but they were all great. Tomorrow morning we head back up to Amsterdam and then to Paris for the weekend....Im gonna catch a few hours of sleep now more pics to come!

Leaving for Amsterdam Today

2009-08-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

Todays the day! Leaving to see Stu in a couple of hours. I hope to update this page at least a few times next week so people can see some pictures where we are going and what not.. so we'll see how long that lasts ha! I'm really excited to get on my way in the meantime heres a ridiculous vid of former Ajax/Real Madrid/ and now AC Milan Dutch Soccer Superstar Klaas Jan Huntelaar.

Week of Improv

2009-08-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

This week was a pretty good one. On Sunday I finished up improv class by performing a showcase at the Source (not the restaurant). All week I was going back and forth on whether or not I should go but I'm really glad I did cause we absolutely killed it. I know this sounds douchetastic (no one likes funny people being serious about being funny) but I feel like improv is a lot harder for me than stand up. Some of the same elements are present, (timing, presense, penis/poop jokes) but really you have a group mindset and operate as a team feeding people joke ideas and relying on what they give back to you. Its on a whole different level than just being out there alone in my confort zone with some jokes.............Balls....Phew! there thats better! sorry about getting all serious back there.

Wednesday Court and I went to Wooly Mammoth and saw Second City perform Barack Stars....It was awesome, more sketch comedy and music than improv but great nonetheless. At the end they played this awesome Magnetic Feilds song Washington dc and this week thats pretty much been on repeat in my head.

Washington, D.C. - The Magnetic Fields

Anyway I know this has been light on pictures so enjoy some DC shots ive yet to post, listen to the song, think about improv being tough and get weepy eyed, I know thats what im doing.

This is where stu and I are getting stabbed...

2009-08-07T11:02:00.001-07:00

Im pretty excited about visiting Stu next week in Europe. He just sent me the link to the Hotel he booked in Paris for 70 euro and I promptly found it on street view..

View Larger Map

Looks like a dive, On tripadvisor.com it got one excellent review 5 average 4 poors and 2 terribles ...Sounds perfect!

I also got the chance to check out some of the other places that Stu has been around Europe by keeping up with his blog Stusweat.blogspot.com ....hilarious. I posted the best pic below

Movies!

2009-08-07T09:06:00.000-07:00

Paper Heart comes out today with Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera..So far I've read some mixed reviews about it but I like both of them so I think I'll probably go out and see it. In the meantime here is the trailer followed by one of the funniest Michael Cera being akward videos I've ever seen.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis from Between Two Ferns

Google Reader

2009-07-23T09:38:00.000-07:00

Getting back into it! This just popped up on my google reader from Kevin. Awesome site, thought I should share. This is a picture of Malcolm X/ Meridian Hill Park as it was and is now. More pics at http://jts-art.com/reDISTRICTing.html

Andy's new bike

2009-02-02T19:58:00.000-08:00

Following Stu's lead my roommate Andy just bought an equally bad ass bike to hit the streets with. Biking in the city is something I've been getting more and more into and I need to buy a bike that blows both of these guys out of the water. Andy's new bike has sick touring handlebars and white carbon fiber rims and a skull and crossbones on the front . Its exactly the kind of bike a pirate would have. Clearly my only option in topping them is to get a bike with gold rims and matching handlebars, but so far Craigs list hasn't been much help. This past weekend, I took some action shots of both Stu and Andy riding...

Stu's New Bike

2009-01-07T16:03:00.000-08:00

Stu's bike is pretty amazing. I'm jealous. I only wish I could get a shot of the matching helmet too.

Obligatory Newseum Post

2008-12-01T17:19:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I decided to visit the Newseum on my day off from work. Since opening up a couple months ago, I’ve heard both good and bad things about the museum so I wanted to take a look for myself. I see a lot of blogs posting pics of some of the more popular exhibits at the Newseum like the WTC antenna or the Berlin Wall but since thats been done over and over I just posted some some of the pictures I like the most below.

This Week in Beer

2008-11-21T08:44:00.000-08:00

It should come as no surprise that I am a fan of the beverage known as beer. A few weeks ago, I blogged about my roommate Chris home brewing his latest batch. Since then, we all have been working on a new site devoted to the drinking, finding, and discussing beer.

check it out at beerbarons.wordpress.com

photo stolen courtesy of flickr

St. Elizabeth's: DC's very own haunted insane asylum

2008-11-17T20:28:00.000-08:00

This weekend I took a tour of St . Elizabeth's in Anacostia. I heard about it from Dcist awhile ago and it didn't fail to creep the hell out of me. I imagined going back and getting a job walking around as the night watchman patrolling all of the haunted buildings by myself. Here are some sweet pics!

NaNoWriMo.......

2008-11-12T11:19:00.000-08:00

...is a horrible abbreviation for an awesome event called National Novel Writing Month. Every November since 1999, Nanowrimo encourages writers to try to finish a 175 page novel by the time the 30th rolls around in a effort to encourage first time writers who may be to scared or overwhelmed to start a novel otherwise. A lot of my friends have been busily working this month but I on the other hand have been stuck trying to perfect the two most important aspects of a single novel, the beginning and the end. Below are some examples from the novels I'm working on.

From my novel in progress "Hard Ice"

-"Colby Sinclair was two when his mother died. As far as he was concerned, the warm Cheyenne sun was the only family he ever had."

- "I guess you're right Jeremy," he said with a sly grin. "Maybe we're all chasing the same dream after all."

From my novel in progress "Bullet Warning"

- "Onetta Hill was the largest and most talked about estate in all the social circles though out East New Hampton."

- "And with that Miss Rita quietly retired to her chamber. Drawing the curtains she couldn't help but think about the boy with the blue button and all she had learned that Summer."

From my novel in progress "Devil's Mousetrap"

-"I have seen the purples and grey mountain tops flying over Colorado, the southwestern deserts of Arizona painted like a fine china doll, the mechanical city sprawl of Beijing bustling while we here at home fall deeper into dreams. I have seen all of these things, throughout my lifetime of labors, yet I would trade it all in an instance for one more moment with her."

-"You cant have it all Frank, you know that right?" The man with the feather in his cap said in a gruff but reassuring voice.

"I know compadre, I know," he said with a lingering sadness.

And with that brief exchange, the two men parted ways never to see each other again.

Wow.........

2008-11-05T10:03:00.000-08:00

That's all I can really say at this point. Last night was an election night unlike any other I've experienced. I really don't know what to do with myself now that this campaign is actually over. For the first time I feel like I can let out a big sigh of relief after holding my breath for the past 8 years. Looking at everyone's reactions all over the world this morning, I decided I needed to post some of the best images I found.

Outside the Whitehouse

Manila, The Philippines

Grant Park Chicago (site of the 68' convention riots)

U Street, D.C. (40 years after being nearly burned to the ground after the 68' MLK riots).

Grant Park, Chicago

Sources: Dcist, washington post, The Daily Telegraph, BBC News

Election Day

2008-11-04T07:02:00.000-08:00

This morning I, like millions of Americans, stood in line to cast my vote in this election. As I was getting ready, I couldn't help but think that regardless of the outcome, today is a defining moment for our country. All over the county many people are voting for the first time and actually feel they have something at stake in this election. I don't know why but it really feels like something special is happening. Something is in the air. I voted for Barack, but no matter who you feel should be President I think its important that you go out today and have your say.

Go Vote!

....well unless youre a Republican in Virginia, then maybe you should stay home.

Chris makes beer: Part 1

2008-10-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about Chris is the fact that he brews beer. Finding a roommate who you get along with, cleans up after himself, and pay bills on time is hard enough, but finding one who does all three and makes alcohol for you to enjoy is something special. Over the years Chris has made pretty much every beer you can imagine and has gotten very good at it. I recently looked at him making some Oktoberfest Lager, took some pictures and heres how its done.

The Supplies: Malt Extract, Barley, Hops, Yeast (not pictured)

8-10 Gallon Bucket of water boiled to about 155 o

Once the water is hot enough add the barley in a cheesecloth sack

Steep the bag for about 20ish minutes

then add and stir in about 2 cans of old timey malt extract

Hmm these pictures make me want to go grab a beer. Ill have more pics posted of parts 2 and 3 soon !

So we went camping

2008-10-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

This weekend the gang went camping in Frederick, Md. Now many of your readers may be surprised to know that despite my rugged looks I'm really not much of a camper. I went camping once before when I was 12 and read part of Into the Wild, but those two examples are really my only exposure to the great outdoors. Stu on the other hand is an Eagle Scout and made sure to remind us that he was any opportunity he had. An accomplished outdoors man Stu has skills that the other roommates and I could only dream of, his Eagle Scout prowess helped all of us find the parking space next to the campsite, track the hot dogs and smores from the cooler to the grill, and helped us chop the prechopped wood they had available at the ranger station into even smaller pieces of wood. Camping was a great adventure and a nice change of pace from the everyday weekend routine. We took a hike, told stories by the campfire, and Chris and I actually drank out of Jugs. I took some pics below:

The roaring campfire

Stu teaching me how to chop

Ten trys later I actually did it

More pics of chopping wood

The Campsite

Stu and Les (as in Leslie)

Convention Day Pics 1+2

2008-08-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

Dem Convention in Denver

2008-08-27T14:53:00.000-07:00

The Democratic convention in Denver is like the Academy Awards for dorks. Like the Oscars, there is a giant podium, Jon Stewart, endless self congratulatory speeches, and even a morbid slide show of politicos that passed away this year. Unlike the Oscars there are several people from D.C. simultaneously black berrying and dancing off rhythm to Stevie Wonder (with Wolf Blitzer providing 24 hour coverage). I was lucky enough to get some creds and make my way in to see the speakers on day one and two, drink free beer in the press tent and take some pics along the way.

Vegas Vacation

2008-08-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

Because there are only so many farmer's markets and organic produce stores in the the city to cover in one simple neighborhood blog, I decided to skip town for a good week and blog about something other than D.C. This past week I visited the fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada. Las Vegas is a pretty cool city at times, but the ratio of old 80 year old white women and obese families in jorts and fanny packs compared to regular people can really mess with you. I took some pics below of my hotel room overlooking the strip.

Same view with squiggly camera feature:

What I did : I checked out Fremont Street which is in downtown Vegas and home to some of the oldest casinos in Vegas . I was amazed at the amount of Mullets and drunks dads carrying around kids with black eyes in one localized area. Even though its pretty much white trash central its awesome and there are some pretty cool sights to see .
I spent a whole day at the Hoover dam which was pretty interesting. I have never experienced being amazed as well as bored as a singular emotion but trust me you'll know what I mean after about 30 minutes here. I made a lot of Chevy Chase jokes but sadly they too got very old very fast.

What I Ate: Vegas has some of the best restaurants in the world and I made it a point ease up on the buffet and visit a couple of restaurants. I really wanted to check out Michael Mina's Nob Hill but ended up settling for Michael White's Fiamma and Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. I'll come out and say that both places were absolutely delicious although I picked dishes that were hard to really mess up.

My steak at Flay's: A chipotle glazed rib eye with red and green chili sauce

Chili Relleno

Tiger Shrimp Tamale

My Raviolini at Fiamma

and the Kobe Beef Risotto cakes

Roundup Roundup

2008-08-12T06:13:00.000-07:00

Fresh off vacation I am in the mood for some lazy blogging. Here are some stories I've been keeping track of this week:

Kanye West is a muppet in his new video.

Prince of Petworth visits Timor Bodega.

Dcist plugs a new book celebrating Ben's 50th Anniversary plus gives info on Ben's big birthday party.

Hogs Haven recaps the Skins win over the Bills and makes the case for Marcus Mason.

Stereogum introduces Frat Rap.

The Post finally jumps on the re-opening of Republic Gardens.

Meridian Hill Park is for Pimps

2008-08-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

On my way back home from Columbia Heights on Sunday I stopped to check out Meridian Hill Park. Meridian Hill is a great park right off of 16th street and only a couple of blocks up from U St. Every Sunday locals and dirty stinking hippies alike come together to play music and form a drum circles. I snapped a couple of pics of the massive cascading fountain which is in the center of the park and a few people hanging in the park. The whole atmosphere was very cool people played soccer, Frisbee (some guy practiced tight rope for some reason) and I'm sure Ill come back with a few people this weekend. I looked up some history of the park on wikipedia because wikipedia is awesome and it tells me that the park was originally part of what eventually became GW University and in 1914 was bought by the Federal government to be redesigned into a grand urban park. Meridian Hill park was also voted to be called Malcolm X Park in the 70s but the D.C. law was not ratified by congress (as was it required to take effect). These days you'll find certain people that still refer to the park as Malcolm X Park, in my opinion if they are from D.C. and lived here in the 70's that is allowed, but if they are hipster transplants from southern California you should probably punch them in the face. Anyway, Meridian Hill Park is awesome you should go there and bang a hippie drum.

Fountain Pics

Hippies

Statue of Joan of Arc

Super Hippie D Bag

U Street in the News

2008-07-30T07:25:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Alan Ehrenhalt's article about the changing face of American Cities, "Trading Places," in this month's New Republic. U Street gets a mention as "perhaps the liveliest part of the city, at least for those under 25," and a "recovering slum,". While I don't agree with his notion that D.C., Chicago, or Manhattan are becoming like Vienna in the 1890's, he does have a lot of interesting things to say about the deterioration of the modern day suburbs. Like everything the New Republic publishes it is about a page and a half too long, long winded and pompous but its worth a look.

Tilly and the Wall at the Black Cat

2008-07-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to the Black Cat to catch Tilly and the Wall. While I am not cool enough to say that I had heard them before, after seeing their live show Saturday night, I can now say I'm a really big fan. Tilly and the wall is a band out of Omaha and makes music that is just the right mix of indie rock and dance pop. There were a lot of things that I took away from the live show last night: One is that Tilly and the Wall have a lot of fans that are lesbians that enjoy making out to every song, and Two, they have a tap dancer as their main percussionist. Both of these things make Tilly and the Wall an awesome band that you should check out.

Tapdancing

9:30 Club Roundup

2008-07-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to see the Ting Tings play their first show in D.C. at the 9:30 club. While they played amazingly well, it was the shortest show I have ever seen. The Ting Tings took the stage around 9:30 and played their final encore around 10:20. I know they only have one album but what happened to the live music experience where the band shows up drunk, kicks over an amp, punches a fan and gets hauled away by the police. Despite that one minor gripe, I would have to say that the Ting Tings have a good thing going. Lead singer Katie White looked and rocked out like a hotter more british Debbie Harry and Drummer/Guitarist/Producer Jules De Martino really killed it on the drums. I took some pics of the show below.

Music Roundup

2008-07-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Living on U street, I am lucky enough to be in walking distance from some of the city's best live music venues. Whether at the Velvet Lounge, Bohemian Caverns, the 9:30 club, or the Black Cat, chances are on any given night there is a show worth going to. Tonight, the British duo the Ting Tings are playing at the 9:30 Club (9th and V St NW) and you should go. Doors open at 7:00 and tickets are still available for 15 bucks. If you still need convincing, I have compiled a list of reasons to watch the Ting Tings below.

The lead singer is hot

They are good

They are British

The lead singer is hot

Redskins Roundup

2008-07-21T06:35:00.000-07:00

Like many other people who live in DC, I love the Redskins and I can't wait for this season to start. This weekend, Redskins training camp started in Ashburn, VA and after such an emotional season last year I am eager to see what the 2008 Redskins under Coach Zorn are shaping up to look like. The really big news out of day 1 was Phillip Daniels season ending ACL tear and the subsequent pickup of Pro Bowler Jason Taylor from Miami to fill in the gaps on the D-Line. This wasn't much of a surprise to me, I thought for sure we were going to make a play for Taylor during the draft and one of our teams glaring needs is a decent DE that can pass rush ( I was so surprised that we didn't go after a DE with our 1 or 2nd pick on draft day). As much as I love Phillip Daniels for his veteran leadership, Taylor with his 11 sacks last season and pro-bowl caliber career is an immediate upgrade to the line. I also see Taylor's big time presence to the D freeing up Andre Carter from the double team as well as setting up some of our secondary to make some big plays. while we traded away a 2009 2nd round pick and a 2010 6th round pick, I really think we got the best deal possible given the unexpected injury to Daniels and don't think this will be another Redskins retirement package like Deion, Bruce Smith or TJ Duckett.

Vacation Roundup

2008-07-21T06:32:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you have to get out of the place that you live in order to gain enough perspective to truly appreciate everything you may have otherwise have taken for granted had you stayed. Visiting Miami to see my friend Josh was not one of those times. Yes, Miami may have an equal amount of douche bags as D.C., but it also has models, beaches and a place that serves only cereal. Taking a break from all that is D.C., I wanted to post some of my vacation pics from this weekend.

South Beach

Ocean Drive

Coconut Grove

Lights outside of Barracudas

Senior Frogs

Rob Ott by city light

Key Biscayne

Breakfast at the Cereal Bowl

Furniture Shopping Roundup

2008-07-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

While I like reading from time to time, I really like looking like I'm well read even more. Looking like you are well read saves time and energy (important in this fast paced age of the internet) and produces all the same results as sitting down and reading like a sucker. For example, if someone exuberantly says "Hey I just saw the best movie!" you can always look well read by shooting them a look of disgust and saying, "Yeah but the book was better." This works mostly all books or movies, however be careful how and when you pull this card (I found out the hard way there is no book for Point Break).

A more subtle approach to looking well read is owning a bookshelf. This method only requires you to stock your bookshelf with various books that range in topics that are beyond the comprehension of the average person. Keeping the topics of your books varied and highly specialized is critical, for starters, it reduces the risk that you actually become engaged in a conversation with someone who is familiar with the book, and secondly, if you do find yourself engaged in conversation with someone who is familiar with the book you can quickly point to another book and change topics.

This weekend I chose the subtle route and went to 14th Street to look for a bookshelf. While there are many furniture stores on or around U Street I found that going the used route can save you some change if your willing to dig around. I visited two amazing thrift furniture stores Ruff and Ready and Hunted House. Both of these stores are located on 14th Street opposite the Black Cat and constantly have an influx of awesome used furniture for cheap prices.

Ruff and Ready is a bit of sensory overload for the first time buyer. Literally the merchandise is stacked on top of each other from wall to wall but if you are willing to dig around you can find some amazing deals. The entire downstairs is 75% off and everything will probably be cheaper than its ticketed price once you get to the register. While I didn't quite find the bookshelf I wanted, my roommate and I bought a few cool things to hang on our living room walls and I am definitely going back next week to see if they have anything new.

Hunted House, is more organized, but more expensive. Like an Ikea on shrooms, HH is set up to look like you are walking through a real house. They have tons of great retro furniture and great pictures (see the space tiger below). Unfortunately, it was all out of my immediate price range so I couldn't get a bookshelf there either.

Even though I didn't find the bookshelf I wanted to appear well read, simply by going to these two places I increased my indie credibility by a bunch of points (which may be good after that boat shoe post). Besides, I hear it looks smarter to stack all of your books in various places around your floor anyway.

Ruff and Ready is located at 1908 14th Street NW.

Hunted House is located at 1830 14th Street NW.

Bookcases outside Ruff and Ready

Inside Hunted House

Awesome Picture (I think it was the cover to an Asia album)

Wall Carvings

Space Tigers

Free Booze Roundup

2008-07-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

While many of you are in a rush today to pick up a free slurpee from 7-11, my mind is focused on free booze. Wherever you decide to head out tonight on the street, you cant beat starting at DC9's Friday night upstairs open bar. For $6.00 from 9:00-10:30 you can drink all the rail cocktails you want (and believe me they make them strong). DC9 calls this the Liberation Dance Party but I think they should change it to the Throw up or Thrown out Dance Party because chances are you will more than likely be doing one of the two by 10:30.

DC9 is right off of 9th and U St NW

Boat Shoe Roundup

2008-07-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Since moving to the city I've really gotten into reading the City Paper on Thursday or checking it out online when I have time. I do this because everyone knows that a good blogger has to be an apathetic hipster douchebag and City Paper seems to have a lot of articles that apathetic hipster douchebags would like. Now I know what you are thinking ...Tony aren't you kind of a douchebag? Yes, I am. But since I had friends in college I am by definition not a hipster. Now its not for the lack of trying, indeed I have desperately tried time and time again to fit in with the hipster crowd. I have bought tighter more ironic t shirts, ray ban look alike sunglasses, made up bands that I like, and often not shaved. Each time however it seems I am met with resistance from the hipster community. As soon as I think something is cool and buy/wear/ listen to it, it automatically is not cool with the hipster crowd. Just last week, by my actions, I have made American apparel t shirts, blogging, and drinking at DC9 not cool. So imagine my surprise when I came across this article in the City Paper's blog. Apparently its now hipster to wear boat shoes. Well sorry hipsters, I win this one. I have been wearing boat shoes for years. You guys have now appropriated as cool something I already wear (which as we already established cannot be cool). I hope this paradox makes your heads explode and there is nothing left but a wide brimmed vintage fedora and an H&M man scarf. Oh and make sure to send me the royalty check when seersucker shorts become cool. You know where to find me I'll be on U street in your favorite bar, look for the boat shoes.

Exhibit A: Hipsters

Exhibit B: Me

The Howard Theatre

2008-07-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

I came across this great video online about the restoration of the Howard Theatre on 7th and T. For metro riders such as myself the immediate point of reference for the Howard Theatre is that scary looking place surrounded by barbed wire where people ask me for money on my way to the Shaw Metro Station. At one time however, the Howard was the preeminent black venue for Jazz and Entertainment in D.C. Like so many historic places on U St , the Howard hosted such greats as the Duke, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Count Basie, and Charlie Parker and went into severe decline following the 68 riots.

I really hope the restoration effort goes well and doesn't result in a giant mall being built on top of the theater. The developers plan to restore it to its pre-1940's facade so that is a good sign they are dedicated to retaining the integrity of the Howard as one of the first full sized venues for African American performers.

So far the District has pledged about 8 million to help the restoration effort and there is about 6 million available through tax credits but it will take an estimated 30 million to fully redevelop and endow the theater by 2010. Looking at some of the redevelopment plans on the city's website it looks like big changes are planned for the neighborhood as they plan on building extra retail space on the vacant lots next to the CVS between 7th and 9th. Here's hoping this doesn't mean an end to the 9th and U flea market on Sat and Sunday.

Even though I haven't seen any visible restoration happen yet, Ill be sure to keep everyone posted on the theater's ( and neighborhood's) progress as I see it.

Independence Day Done Right

2008-07-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day to celebrate the 4th of July in Washington D.C. After an all day marathon BBQ with friends and family, a few of us went over to Cardozo High to catch the fireworks. Cardozo High sits on a massive hill alongside 13th street and, in my opinion, has the best view of the entire city. You can see both the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building and pretty far into Northern Virginia from the top of the school (around 13th and Clifton). I knew this would be a great place to watch the fireworks, but I didn't realize how cool of an experience it would be. In addition to a great view of the fireworks shot from the National Mall, people were also setting off all kinds of fireworks from the school's basketball courts and the surrounding streets. The atmosphere was a complete frenzy, there was singing, dancing, and partying all around us. I can honestly say it was the most exciting 4th of July celebration day I have ever seen. One of the coolest things we came across that night was a group of Capoeira dancers. Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art dance that blends dance moves with fighting techniques like kicks and sweeps. It was amazing to see so many people from so many different backgrounds coming together to celebrate the 4th of July and have one big party. It was also amazing to see so many unsupervised kids running around shooting fireworks at each other. I tried to post as many pics as I could from last night, but no picture can really replace the experience of being there. Despite almost getting blown away by a giant firework on my way home, Cardozo is definitely going to become a yearly tradition for me.

Eat on the Street

2008-07-02T12:46:00.000-07:00

If you have ever walked down U Street hungry, chances are you've probably ended up eating something Ethiopian. This is probably due to the fact that there are about 80 different Ethiopian restaurants between 9th and 16th, but it is also due to the fact that Ethiopian food is god damned delicious. Recently, my friends and I went to Dukem, located at 12th and U. For those of you that have never tried Ethiopian before the meal may seem a bit strange at first, but that's probably because you are an ignorant asshole. Every individual order is served together on a bed of spongy bread called Injera, and meant to be shared among the table. To eat Ethiopian, you simply scoop up your meal with little pieces of Injera, have a flavor explosion in your mouth, swallow, and enjoy (see below). We ordered a combo of Veggies, Tibs (sauteed beef or lamb), and Doro Wot (a kind of spicy chicken stew). We also discovered this awesome Ethiopian beer Harar. Harar is so good, I can only assume it was divinely made, and drank everyday by Haile Selassie because he is Jah. Dukem also has live music, bottle service and $6.95 Johnnie Walker Black Label (also a gift from Jah) every Wednesday evening. Go there now.

Bloomingdale is Fresh

2008-07-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Despite what the City Paper seems to think, Bloomingdale is probably the best neighborhood in D.C. I say this not because I am biased and live there, but because unlike a lot of neighborhoods in the District, it really feels like a community. I couldn't even think of a place where so many people stop and say hello, strike up conversations or just act really friendly in general when you are walking down the street. I think it may have something to do with the abundance of Coffee shops and Liquor stores but I'm not entirely sure.

One of the most popular places in the hood is Big Bear which serves ultimate hangover cure coffee and grilled cheese. I like Big Bear a lot, the hipster staff is always good for a sarcastic comment (scoffing at my roommate Andy for reading the Washington Post instead of the NY Times) and the coffee is pretty good too.

Even Cooler than Big Bear however, is the Bloomingdale Farmers' Market. Now you may be asking yourself "how is a farmers' market possibly cool?" Well clearly you haven't been to the Bloomingdale Farmers' Market. Every Sunday from 10 to 2 they have a mix of vendors hocking fresh fruit, veggies, meat and bread. Not to talk it up too much but it is the most baller farmers' market that I have ever seen in my life. Amish people regularly walk up, see the farmers market, hang their heads in shame, and quit being Amish on the spot. Yeah its that good.

Saturday Soccer

2008-07-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

While most people spent Saturday getting muddy at the Caribbean Festival, I went downtown to see the U.S. trials for the Homeless World Cup. The Homeless World Cup is an annual 4 on 4 soccer tournament that spans over 58 countries. According to their website, through playing soccer in a competitive and organized setting, 77% of players have significantly improved their lives through employment, housing, education, and rehabilitation programs and 12 players even went on to become semi professional or professional soccer players or coaches. I caught the San Francisco vs. Minneapolis game (Minneapolis went on to win the trials) and the FC Harlem vs. Los Angeles exhibition. If you weren't able to make it out to H Street this weekend you can still catch the documentary about the Cup called Kicking It, playing at the Landmark E Street Cinema all week.

Republic Gardens Open Again

2008-06-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

Friday marked the re-opening of Republic Gardens on 1355 U Street. According to the shiny flier I was handed as soon as I walked in, it is now called the Republic, or depending on which side of the flier you read, the New Republic (which is also the name of a magazine I'm sure 99 percent of the club's clientèle has never read). Since moving to U, I've only heard about the original Republic Gardens as a historic venue that hosted Jazz heavys like the Duke and Ella Fitzgerald and then later in the 90's having the worst door cover ($20 bucks every night). I'm not gonna go the usual route and pretend to hate the bar. I like that there was a good mix of people (ustreet regulars, hipsters, douchebags, and even the rarely seen on U guido douche bags) and the beers were decently priced at around t 4 bucks. The new Garden still plays pretty much only Hip Hop and Jazz, which is fine by me, and is hard to hate having the most open bar space on all of U. This bar easily has some potential to be one of the best draws on the strip but so far its no St Ex downstairs dance party. Clearly I'm gonna have to spend some more time there to make up my mind but its good to know I have another option Friday night. Let's just keep paying those taxes this time Gardens.

Movin on up

2008-06-27T08:56:00.000-07:00

Hi I'm Tony and this is my blog. About 850 of you may remember me as the douche bag counter point from that other (and far superior) U street blog Ustreetmonth but for those who don't let me give you a little background info.

About two months ago my friends and I set out to drink ourselves retarded on the greatest street in Washington, D.C. and live to blog about it. We barely made it out alive that month. Some of us were hit by cars, mauled by pandas, and nearly beat up by bouncers (...wait that all just happened to Kevin) but we still lived to tell our story to the world as our blog grew bigger and bigger. For one glorious month we lived, breathed, ate, drank, and blogged U-Street but in a flash around mid May it was all over and we all went our separate ways.

Since U Street Month, a few of us have moved on, checked into rehab and started new and less U street oriented blogs but still the street held a special place in my heart. Some nights I would wake up in a cold sweat after dreaming about going to Ben's, Local 16, St. Ex, and the Black Cat only to realize I was back at home living my boring Maryland Life. I imagine its something similar to being hooked on heroin and suddenly quitting cold turkey and getting a job as clown who drives around in full costume between odd gigs making balloon animals at children's parties.

So logically I had no choice but to move to the city I love on the Street that I dream about. I recently rented out a row house in lovely Bloomingdale at 2nd and U. I know I could never replace the epic madness that was U Street Month, but I like to consider this a spin off blog like the Jefferson's or Good Times . I'm moving on up and this is my U street life.