Usually the Smells We Smell on the Bus are, How Do You Say…Ball-Like, But Not Today
Chewy!
Today on the bus, the girl next to me had the most glorious smell. You’ll never guess what it was. Give up? Lemonade Bubblicious. What’s more, she wasn’t chewing gum at all. I swear it was her natural scent. Whoever gave birth to this gummy little pixie, I thank you.
Maybe this is part of a new initiative by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to replace the buses normal smells — you know, barf, boogers, ham — with the smell of treats from yesteryear. I’m hoping War Heads will be next.
-And
Center for American Progress Event: How Should the United States Respond to Rising Powers? Probably Not a Question DestroyDC Should Be Answering.
Steve Coll, who is president of Center for American Progress and a writer for the New Yorker, is putting this event together to sort of answer any of the looming fears Americans may have as we’re being (very quickly) knocked down by economic powerhouses India and China in the global marketplace. I think that they should make this event mandatory for Jesus freaks and bums and all those people that give out end of the world paraphernalia at the National Mall.
I know it’s sort of in the middle of the day and starts at 8AM on a Friday morning, but it’s worth going to — Suzanne Nossel from Human Rights Watch and Peter Scoblic from The New Republic will grace the otherwise bland panel.
http://www.americanprogress.org/events/2008/09/nextworld.html
-Mal
Trace is a Magician; On Screen He Looks About 45, But in Person I Swear He was 26.
Trace and friends (via The Houston Chronicle)
So, I went to a screening of Current’s “Unconventionally Yours” on Tuesday. It’s a kitschy little number about the upcoming party conventions in Denver and Minneaspolis that is now showing on Al Gore’s channel. Apparently it was written, shot directed, blah blah blah by Trace Crutchfield. Trace works at Vice and is developing their online TV network. He was at Bourbon in Adam’s Morgan presenting his project.
He’s a bit of a showboat–something tells me it’s not the first time he’s hogged a microphone. But nonetheless, “Unconventionally Yours” whet my whistle.
But here’s the point: I could have sworn Trace was 26. Maybe one of those young guys who has grey hair, but it works somehow. I’ll admit the mood lighting at Bourbon may have altered my vision, but who knew (Maybe it was his well-cropped suit…a little too well-cropped?). When I saw the film I realized he must be at least 45. Trace, I’m not sure if this is a compliment, but what Oprah is to weight (you know, she’s fat, she’s skinny), you are to age.
-And
Better Not Bring a Lighter to This Exhibition: Elena del Rivero at the Corcoran Art Gallery
I just want to rip this down.
Egh, not much to say except get off at Farragut West and follow the signs to the Corcoran Art Gallery and check out Elena de Rivero’s exhibition. Apparently, there is a “majestic curtain of sewn paper more than 500 feet long” that supposedly “inhabits the boundary between domestic space and public activity.”
Whatev.
-Mal
The Only September Concerts in DC Worth Going to. Don’t Ask Us Why They’re All at the 9:30 Club. We Probably Won’t Go to Martha Wainwright.
Martha Wainwright, Sept 10, 9:30 Club: I saw a ballet in London, The Seven Deadly Sins, where Martha sang opera and it moved me to to tears.
Stereophonics, Sept 11, 9:30 Club: Not to be confused for Stereolab, Supergrass or any double-syllabic band name starting with the letter S.
Mogwai, Sept 17, 9:30 Club: I’m only going to this to figure out why they played at the Love Parade in 2006, a rave and techno festival in Berlin that I attended with my Asian mother.
The Dandy Warhols, Sept 22, 9:30 Club: I kind of don’t give a shit about their new album and I just want to hear “Bohemian Like You” and “Horse Pills” and the other eleven songs from Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia.
Stereolab, Oct 1, 9:30 Club: The only song I know is some song in French (found out there’s a German version of it, too) that goes something like, “Ooh whoo jem le mogh a twaaaah. So sexy crazy animal, se communiste..”
-Mal
Don’t Go to Prince Cafe Because They Totally Slapped My Friend’s Friend, So Go to Soussi
Go here...not the other devil place.
That’s basically the bulk of the message. Apparently, the owner of Prince Cafe in Adams Morgan smacked my cousin’s friend upside the head for refusing to pay for something, and so that’s why we, being me and Andrew, can’t go there anymore. However, many people recommend Soussi, another hookah bar just a bit further down 18th St, instead.
Me and And went to it last night and the hostess decided to give us very bad service for only ordering one hookah between us and nothing else.
-Mal
Don’t Wear Flip-Flops to Gua-Rapo
Gua-Rapo, a hookah bar and lounge near the Court House metro, really need to get their act together. They had no problem with my flip-flops at 11 p.m. But by 12:30, my footwear had become a fashion offense. The bouncer wouldn’t let me back in when I stepped out to meet a friend. Luckily, I was one of the more attractive people in the bar, so they had no choice but to let me back in.
Overall though, I’d say Gua-Rapo has its merits. They pack a mean hookah, even if it is around $20 (the profit margin on hookah in this city is enormous). It’s a place for the business casual crowd to let their hair down. On the dance floor, there’s a fair mix of women who can shake their hips and men who want to watch; white people who can’t dance and don’t know it and some who do; and super grabby guys and women who love to be grabbed. Despite the breakdown, I was shocked to see that there were at least ten people who could lay down a mean salsa.
The food is good, not great–surprisingly inexpensive for a place with lights behind their liquor. I’d recommend the empanadas; you can get three (a trio) for around $8. They’re a little dry, but a stiff cocktail will fix that.
On Saturday night, the music was just what I needed. Nothing too obscure (it’s always refreshing when a DJ has enough confidence to play a little Justin Timberlake). It got my head bobbing, but didn’t drive me to the dance floor. But sometimes that’s the happy medium you need.
Gua-Rapo:
2039 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22209
Metro: Court House
Hours: Mon-Thu 5-10:30 pm Fri-Sat 5-11:30 pm Lounge: Thu-Sat 9 pm-1:30 am
-And
SHORTS VI: Oh, We’re Going! This Thursday at Asylum
Girls n' Ballzzzzz
I went to Shorts IV at Asylum on Adams Morgan and it was fantastic. Lots of gayboys in jorts dancing to Chromeo, fatties in shorts shaking their bootay up on the bar and six-foot black men lounging in the ball pit. Last time, I spilled my drink all over myself. Twice. It gets pretty packed in there, so chug everything down before you hit the dance floor.
–Mal
Kind of Late, but it’s Restaurant Week in DC 11th-17th
- Fancy Feast!
More than two dozen fancy schmancy restaurants are partaking in this year’s restaurant week in D.C., including heavyhitters like McCormick & Schmick’s on K Street and Todd English’s OLiVES. Lunch is $20.08 for a three-course fixed-price meal, and dinner, $35.08. Yeah, it sounds like a lot, but when else are you going to get a chance to try a $100 meal at this price?
–Mal
