Sad Panda News

We won't have a new baby panda this year. :(

Zoo scientists have confirmed that Mei Xiang is not pregnant. After she was articifically inseminated on April 4 and 5, she experienced a pseudo, or false, pregnancy.

Before there were panda babies, there were pygmy panda babies...

Do you think pygmy pandas ate full size bamboo?

Panda Mom is Nesting!

While we all know that Tai Shan is the best panda baby ever (and no other panda baby could ever compare in my eyes), I am excited about the possibility of a little brother or sister for our little peaceful mountain.

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/default.cfm?cam=LP2

U Street Farmers Market!

I was so excited when I read that U Street was getting a Farmer's Market! I usually shop at the Giant in Columbia Heights but recently their produce has been pretty dismal. I can never find any decent lettuce and they are always out of basil by the time I get there. I do love the Dupont farmer's market, but its getting too hot to walk down there and back with a bag full of produce! The U street farmer's market starts this Saturday in front of the Reeves Center. Full details below...

Neighbors,

This is it-- just 3 more days to the opening of our own 14 & U farmers' market!

When: Saturday 10 -2
Where: The sidewalk plaza outside the Reeves Center on the northwest corner of 14th
and U Street.

What: wonderful, fresh, local:

STRAWBERRIES STRAWBERRIES STRAWBERRIES STRAWBERRIES of many varieties-- none of
those California Driscolls here!
rhubarb to cook with those strawberries -- but it will sell out quickly
Sugar snap peas - the first of the season-- come early for them.

Green garlic - spring planted to be ready for market-- makes wonderful garlic pesto
CRISP Adams County (Penn) Fuji and Gold Rush and Braeburn from storage
apple cider
honey
apple butter
apple sauce
peach jam

Collard greens (Gomen)
Kale - A mixture of Red Russian, White Kale, and Winterbor...lots of different kale textures
Chard bunches
Spicy Salad greens with lots of baby mustards, cress, etc.
Lettuce - Heads of greens and red mixes.
Minuet Chinese Cabbage --
TENDER Baby beets - Chioggia and Bull's Blood..

Radishes - pink and red and white and French
Hakurei turnips--= sweet turnips to eat raw or braise for just a few minutes

and that is just a TINY TINY TASTE of what you will find. I have taken these from this
week's harvest report from just TWO of the farmers. Lots more to discover.

Robin and Katharine

We welcome WIC and CSFP farmers market vouchers. We support and donate fresh fruits
and vegetables to Martha's Table. We are also partnering with Work and Thrive.

Metro Transit Police fight iPod theft

From the Metro Website:

Metro Transit Police fight iPod theft
iPod theft is on the rise in the Metro system, and the Metro Transit Police want it to stop. From January through April 2007, 30 iPods were stolen from Metro customers. iPod thefts totaled 34 in all of 2006, and just two in 2005. To reduce iPod theft, Metro Transit Police are targeting Metro customers using electronic devices at a crime prevention outreach session at 4 p.m. today, May 9, at the Anacostia Metrorail station.

MTPD Officers will demonstrate behavior that helps customers avoid theft and crime. Officers will remind customers to remain aware of their surroundings and use electronic devices discretely. Safe behavior includes listening to music at a low to moderate decibel level; using black headphones instead of white headphones to make them less noticeable; and holding items inside backpacks, purses or jackets instead of in hands or on laps.

The officers also will distribute crime prevention information and identification decals for portable electronics.

The identification decals can be affixed to electronics and registered in a national database. The unique identification number will make lost or stolen items easier to track or recover.

In addition to the behavior listed above, the Metro Transit Police would like to remind customers of the following safety tips when riding Metro:
• Always be alert of your surroundings and the people around you.
• Avoid talking to strangers, especially in isolated areas.
• If carrying a purse, hold it tightly, and close to your body.
• If carrying a wallet, keep it in your front pocket.
• If you notice unusual behavior, unattended packages or anything that seems suspicious, call the Metro Transit Police at 202-962-2121 or tell a Metro employee.

If it can't hide it...don't wear it!

Alright ladies...I know spring is in the air and as the weather warms up we are uber-tempted to show a little skin. But let's have some class!

I've noticed the cutout is back. You know what I'm talking about: that little missing geometric swatch of fabric from your shirt/bathing suit. I'm not sure what I think of this but after seeing a rather horrendous faux paux regarding this trend on Saturday afternoon, I feel its my responsibility to let you know what people will and will not let you get away with while sporting this trend.

Numero uno pet peeve -- if you can't hide a bra under it or go without, you probably shouldn't be wearing it. I know, I know...Carrie on Sex and the City did it all the time and with her couture no less. Well, that was a tv show that operated outside of the realm of reality. This most likely will not work for anyone not frequenting the Red Carpet. And even Carrie matched it to her outfits or went with a basic black. The girl, so unflatteringly depicted to the right (and I must thank Ryan for surreptitiously snapping this pick for me) is breaking a couple of rules. The bra doesn't even match. It was a lacy, periwinkle colored thing that stood out so obviously we were giggling about it for at least a half an hour. It didn't help that she was a little drunk and calling extra attention to herself. This shirt is the perfect candidate for the self adhesive bra. I mean, from the front she obviously needed "support" so I give her props for that. But when you only spend $14.99 on a shirt, you can spring for the $30 bra that can hide under it.

I was going to search for some good cutout options...but there aren't any really. If you wanna show some skin I suggest a halter, tube top or a strappy tank. But even with those options, if you can't go the no-bra route and you can't camouflage the thing, skip it. I don't care if its on sale or the most comfortable thing you've ever worn.

Its. Not. Attractive.

Save Eastern Market!

This Tuesday, bars across the District will be donating a portion of their proceeds to help restore Eastern Market. If this isn't a worthy cause, then I don't know what is! All of the proceeds will go to the Capitol Hill Community Foundation. Currently our old staple isn't on the list, but hopefully they will step up! Regardless, plan on heading out and drinking Tuesday, May 8th. For a list of participating bars, click here.

Screen on the Green

Every summer I plan on checking out at least one of the Screen on the Green movies and every summer something keeps me away... one summer it rained every day, another summer I was recovering from surgery or out of town. But I am determined to see at least one movie this summer!

They just released the schedule for this year (thanks DCist for the heads-up) and the line-up looks great. There is just something idyllic about seeing old classics on the National Mall - it makes you ignore the fact that you are outside in DC in August sweating!

This year the line-up is much better than last year:

Monday, July 16: Annie Hall
Monday, July 23: The Thing From Another World
Monday, July 30: Wait Until Dark
Monday, August 6:: All the King's Men
Monday, August 13: Casablanca

Keep DC short!

I think one of the reasons I love DC so much is because it doesn't feel like a big city. Much of this has to do with the fact that there are no tall buildings in District. I love the fact that from my house near U street I can look downtown and see the Washington Monument. This wouldn't happen in any other major city. The Washington Post looked into the debate of high rises in DC today. I always thought that there was some old law in DC that buildings couldn't be taller than the Washington Monument. Turns out though, that law doesn't exist. There is a height Act that Congress created, but that was in response to protesters in 1894 who were protesting the 160-ft height of the Cairo apartment building on 16th which is pretty intereting.

Developers are claiming that DC is running out of space and that soon there will be a time where DC will have to be built up to attract more businesses and lower rates. But of course the Developers would say that. However, I am pretty sure that is not what L'Efant had in mind when he planned the beautiful sprawling city. He is probably turning in his grave right about now. Could you imagine DC with skyscrapers? All of the charecter DC has would be lost. They don't even have to be that tall to be an eye sore - a perfect example would be Rosslyn!

This is sad

I've been to Eastern Market a couple of times and while I didn't fall in love with it, I understand that a lot of people in the neighborhood love it. Evidently, part of the market has burned down over the weekend. Luckily no one was hurt.

Weekend Picks Return

Friday night
Check out ArtDC - DC's first modern and contemporary art fair - apparently it will put DC on the international art scene map. It will be at the convention center through Monday. But try and head there tonight where it is free all day. Though it ends at 7! If you go this weekend (11-7 Saturday and Sunday) you'll pay $12.

Saturday
This is the last weekend for the DC International Film Festival. You can check out the schedule at FilmfestDC. The films are all over DC at different locations (mainly on Wisconsin Ave) and most films are $9. At 3pm at Busboys and Poets there will be a Directors Roundtable with free admittance.

Sudnay
Sundress Festival '07 at the Wonderland Ballroom is sure to be fun. An equal opportunity event - anyone (guys or girls) who come in sundresses gets cheap drinks ($2 off drafts, $3 rail and $6 bottles of Delirium Tremens -whatever that is). To see pictures of last years Sundress Festival, log into Myspace and click here.

Enjoy the weekend!

Beauty Night Out

So apparently, the Style and Image Network puts on a yearly Beauty Night Out which features local dc spa treatments, make-up consultations and boutique shopping. I was invited by a friend and was not sure what to expect at all. The biggest original attraction for me was that a portion of the $35 entry fee went to Dress for Success, a great Non-profit organization that provides interview suits, confidence boosts, and career development to low-income women. You were also promised a gift bag which ended up having some free hair products (for color treated hair), some crazy pomegranate and blackberry energy drink, eye renewal creme (my favorite) and a book about why we should consider getting plastic surgery earlier rather than later -- not only was it kind of annoying to be pushing surgery on 20-somethings, but really heavy to carry around all night. But the best part turned out to be a free bar with all the beer and/or martinis (or Beautinis) i could drink. The martinis were made using Pink, a new vodka infused with caffeine that was making its debut in the dc market...i have to say it wasn't half bad, though i didn't really feel "energized". the was bottle really cool, but this marketing campaign is kind of lame. but whatever, it was FREE! there wasn't much food and when it appeared it didn't last long, so i was glad i ate first.

As far as product placement, they only thing that really stood out for me was the mini-makeup consultation by PR at Partners , using their "Pretty" signature makeup brand. I felt a little like an extra in "The Mummy" when it was over, with my golden-bronzed eyes and nude lip color but got some great application tips and the look definitely grew on me. My friend went for the oh-so-popular smokey eye look, but it was really modernized using a bronze shadow for the base and navy in the crease -- a great combo for brunettes! That, i think i might have to buy.

We went on to get free hand and back massages, which were good but nothing special. This was done by a traveling day spa company (listed as a vendor on the site). I'm still figuring out how i can suggest to our management committee that we have them come do massages for our office once a month... Moroccan facials were available, but watching girls walking around with mud on their faces and their hair in shower caps was not really appealing...so we skipped that. Besides the makeup people, I can't say I'd search out any of the other spa treatment providers in the future, so its not the kind of event you'd attend to find a great spa.

All in all I'd give the general event 4 out of 5 stars, mostly because of the free booze. I was only planning to be there for a few hours and we ended up being one of last groups to leave. The vendors were all incredibly nice and as a result we bought more stuff than we had intended. However lines were really, really long and I wished I'd worn more comfortable standing shoes. I can't think of many better ways to spend $35 or my Thursday evening and I'll definitely be on the lookout for next year's event and inviting all my girlfriends.

HUGE Panda News!

We can start planning the 3rd AND 4th annual panda baby pub crawl!

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/

Prepare to see the planet as neverbefore...

So i realize that a lot of my posts of late have been sciencey and educational but for some reason I'm in to all of that right now. i could post on my horrible metro ride today and do a long rant on pole hogging (I mean seriously people - if the train is crowded, don't wrap your entire body around one pole so that nobody else can hold on!!) but instead I will tell you about the coolest thing to hit cable since... well not quite sure since but in the nonfiction category of cable, I would say this takes the cake.

I'm talking about Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel. If you have already caught on, then you know how amazing it is. It uses this new high tech camera that is attached on a helicopter which allows them to shoot up close from a mile away so they can capture amazing footage without scaring the animals. They also have cameramen who are incredibly patient. One spent 8 weeks in a camouflaged hole waiting to get a peak at the Birds of Paradise trying to mate. The males attract the females by doing a dance and showing off their colors and then if they do a good job, the female chooses them. Wish it was that easy in the real world!

The show takes you from the bottom of the ocean, to the desert, to the top of Everest and everywhere in between. Usually I would tend to get bored watching nature shows, but this one is different. I had recorded a bunch of episodes (usually Sunday nights at 8 and 9) and though tit would be something good to watch while I switched out my winter and summer clothes but I couldn't take my eyes off of it. The footage is just amazing. Truly makes you appreciate the planet and makes you really get that the world doesn't not revolve around us humans. If you have a high-def tv, watch it on Discovery HD! If not, it is still great! This coming Sunday they are doing a marathon on the Discovery Channel. Set the TiVo for it to catch up and prepare to be amazed.

Bodies: The Exhibition

I was very excited when I heard that the exhibit Bodies had come to DC. The last time I was in New York my friend wanted to go check it out down at the South Street Seaport and since most of her other friends had already seen it, I agreed to go - but I was very hesitant! Not only was I actually going to have to pay almost $30 (and coming from DC where most of the museums are free it took a lot of convincing) but the actual exhibit seemed a bit repulsive.

The exhibit is basically actual human bodies, which have been preserved and then dissected to show specific muscles, organs and systems. The thought brought me back to anatomy class in high school when we were dissecting cats and after a few days the smell became horrendous. But the exhibit turned out to be far from repulsive! In fact, it is the best exhibit I have been to. It was amazing! You can truly see everything in the body and how it works. The dissection technique is pretty cool too and how they were able to remove everything but the circulatory system still shocks me! I highly recommend this to anyone. It is well worth the trip to Rossyln and well worth the $26. You won't be sorry! It is truly fascinating and you will learn so much about your body.

The bodies were either unidentified people or were donated to science - all were acquired from a laboratory in China. But it begs the question - is this considered science?? My friend and I ended up debating this for awhile. Being put on display like this in a museum for all to see just doesn't seem like science to me. But go check it out yourself and let me know what you think!

Spring, oh Spring, Where for art thou Spring??

National Weather reports that 1 to 2 inches of snow is expected to fall late tonight into tomorrow morning. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 30's.

UGH!

fashion insult to injury

i'm sure you were all greatly relieved to hear of the release of the british sailors held captive by iran after their "apparent" invasion of iranian waters. the sailors took top press coverage on the front of at least 2 major us newspapers (the washington post and the ny times) and showed the captives smiling and waving to what is apparently a crowd in iran. one interesting point, for those with access to the hard copies, is that the post managed to crop out the 4 very surly looking sailors who belie the gracious and thankful attitude of the others waving and smiling, obviously relieved by their eminent freedom or feeling pressure to make nice with iranian officials lest they renege on their promise to release you (again).

my biggest beef with the iranian government is after all they put Faye Turney through did they really have to throw her in that chadwick-esque outfit while the men got decent (if ill-fitting) suits? i mean, its hard enough to pull off a head scarf without pairing it with a monstrous navy and red striped shirt three sizes too large. all in all i can't help but feel that iran was trying to send the statement visually that this woman had no place as a sailor with a career, but rather should be in her rightful position at home in her suburban housewife outfit (granted most housewives i know dress way better than that). i'll admit there are a few pictures of her looking more put together, but if going on the pictures alone seems too judgemental (maybe they're fashion challenged), let me reference the iranian president's own words, who "admonished london for sending a mother, Leading Seaman Faye Turney, on a dangerous mission in the persian gulf". seems to me they see women in the military as a no-no.

fashion, or at least style of dress, does matter, especially in commanding respect for a position and conveying a sense of dignity. and the fact that the iranians would deny a person that, while obviously bestowing that consideration on her peers of the opposite gender, is almost more annoying to me than their increasingly pompous and provoking propaganda of late.
and if this seems like a bit of overreaction, well, i did label this a rant :)

First Tuesday in Adams Morgan Tonight

It's First Tuesday again in Adams Morgan. Below are the specials...

New this Tuesday is Skynear Furnishings (2122 18th St NW) "30% off furniture small enough to mail and big enough for an apartment," AND 15% off all lighting!!


Food and drink for 2 for $25 (plus tax) (Offerings vary)

The Grill From Ipanema (1858 Columbia Rd NW)
Perry's Restaurant (1811 Columbia Rd NW)
Chloe (2473 18th St. NW)
Saki (2477 18th St. NW)
Bossa Bistro (2463 18th St. NW)
Left Bank (2424 18th St NW)L
a Fourchette (2429 18th St. NW)
Felix (2406 18th St NW)
Bourbon (2321 18th St. NW)
Tom Tom (2333 18th Street NW)
Spaghetti Garden (2317 18th St. NW)
Duplex Diner (2004 18th St. NW)
L'Enfant Café (2000 18th St. NW) after 8pm
El Tamarindo (1785 Florida Ave. NW)

Retail - Sales of 10% - 30% off selected items or store-wide

Fleet Feet (1841 Columbia Rd.NW)
Miss Pixie's (2473 18th St NW)
Toro Mata Art & Furnishings of Peru (2410 18th St.NW)
Kobos African Clothiers (2444 18th St. NW)
Brass Knob Architectural Antiques (2311 18th St.NW)
Shake Your Booty (2206 18th St.NW)
The District Line (2118 18th St NW)
Skynear Furnishings (2122 18th St.NW)
Meeps Vintage (2104 18th St.NW)
DeVinos (2001 18th St.NW)
Urban Escape (1781 Florida Ave.NW)
The Spa at MintFitness (1724 California St NW)

Meet John Doe

Sunday night I saw Meet John Doe at Ford's Theatre. I highly recommend it. Its a very classic Americana type play so what better place to have it's world premiere than Ford's Theatre. The musical is based off of Frank Capra's 1941 film with the same title. The story is set in the Depression (early 30s) and everyone at a newspaper was getting laid off. As retaliation, one columnist published a fake letter by a "John Doe" who said he was going to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge on Christmas Eve as a protest for the state of the society. It takes off from there and there is comedy, drama and romance. Some of the solos were a bit too long for me, especially after intermission when I was getting tired. BUT I did not fall asleep during the play and as a lot of you know that means it must be good! The Washington Post also gave it rave reviews last week. I got my tickets from Goldstar Events so the tickets were half-price and the seats were excellent.

White Wonderland

Four years ago, Southern Living had an article on the Cherry Blossoms in Kenwood, a neighborhood in Bethesda. I cut it out and put it on my list of things to do and this weekend I finally got out there. It is truly amazing! And so much better then fighting the crowds on the Mall. There are about 1,500 cherry blossom trees - much more than around the tidal basin and a fraction of the tourists. Its really just a wonderland of white. We parked the car once we got inside Kenwood and walked up and down the streets admiring the blossoms and the homes while stopping occasionally at a kid's lemonade stand for some treats.

I highly recommend trying to get out to Kenwood if you can before all of the blossoms are blown away. Use the link above for directions.