It is getting colder and pretty soon we will be in the throes of another D.C. winter. In between watching people abandon their cars and rush to the supermarket for bread, milk, and toilet paper, I like to go ice-skating at local outdoor rinks. There is a handful in the area and they are starting to open up for the 2005-06 season.

While the popular National Sculpture Garden ice rink does not open for a few weeks, other rinks are schedule to open the first week in November. Outdooriceskating.com has information about rinks in Pentagon Row in Arlington; Reston Town Center; and Glen Burnie, Md. In College Park, Herbert Wells Ice Rink is already open. There are also rinks in Bethesda, Kentlands, and Columbia, but I could not find sites for them.

If you prefer to skate indoors, check out these rinks:

DISTRICT
Friends of Fort Dupont Ice Arena

VIRGINIA
Fairfax Ice Arena
Mount Vernon Ice Arena

MARYLAND
Maryland Rinks – marylandiceskating.com

Sugar Rush with local baker extraordinaire debuts on the Food Network at 9:30pm tomorrow night. He’s making Chocolate Raspberry Parfaits which sound so very phenomenally delicious I might just go into a diabetic coma watching the show tomorrow night. Of course, I could just go over to Cake Love and get myself some cupcakes for the show tomorrow night so I don’t just spontaneously combust from food lust. Mmmmmmm….strawberry buttercream-frosted cupcakes….*drooool*

Sweet Baby Jesus, what is that blue thing west of us?! Bad enough the green appears to have taken over the greater DC area for the day, but blue stuff too?! The Apocalypse is coming! Snow in October! Help me Jebus! Much like Wayan, I am a summer person, and I lament the coming of our frigid winter, though I know we have it good compared to, say, New York or Boston. It’s days like these that have me checking my couch cushions for spare change to fly somewhere warm.

Considering it’s now seven days til All Hallow’s Eve (if you’re partying Saturday instead, it’s only five!), I thought I’d continue to do my part to freak you all out by telling a classic Wasington ghost story. Apart from President Lincoln’s haunting the White House, there is possibly no more famous local ghost story than that one that spawned the book and the movie, “The Exorcist.”

Everyone in DC is familiar with the “exorcist stairs” in Georgetown, featured in the film, and some might know that William Peter Blatty got the idea for the book from local news articles he read as a Georgetown student in the forties, about a possessed boy who lived in Mt. Rainier and had to be exorcised by a local priest. Supposedly the priest’s journal on the case was stored at the archdiocese. This journal features prominently in a story that is still told at my alma mater, Catholic University, where apparently the journal ended up being held under lock and key in a small room on campus, with a fiendish will of its own…
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Well, the first bear of the season is dead, felled at the hands of 8 year old Sierra Stiles, who won the local bear-hunting license lottery. Of course, this has animal rights’ groups all kinds of freaked out, which is what I find amusing. She’s getting the bear stuffed, if you were interested.

Harlem rapper Cam’ron was shot this weekend while attending Howard University’s home-coming weekend in DC. Apparently three men tried to car-jack Cam’ron’s Lamborghini and they shot him in both arms as he drove away The wounded rapper drove himself to Howard University Hospital where he is now recovering.

A spokesperson for Cam’ron made following statment: “Cam’ron will be just fine. He’s in good spirits. He’s cracking jokes and is expected to be released shortly. He even asked the nurse for her phone number when he woke up.”

Godspeed and good health Cam.

Tuesday night in DC is a perfect example of the dichotomy of Punk Rock ideals versus commercialism at its finest (or worst) and the hyposcrisy of the legions of adherents to said ideals.

Social Distortion is playing a sold out 930 Club tonight for $25
Jello Biafra is playing at the Black Cat tonight for $15 but it isn’t sold out.

While there is no denying that Social Distortion are one of America’s finest punk bands musically, politically they have never been very heavy hitters. And as they have aged and evolved as an band, they have perfected a variety of pre-packaged Punk Rock that sells tons of albums to the X-Games/Tony Hawk crowd – arguably the consumer Punk market. They have become so packaged that even their stage banter is suspected of being scripted.

Jello Biafra is one of Punk Rock’s most out-spoken political watch-dogs and has tirelessly continued his one-man crusade for 25 years without streamlining or giving in to commercial temptation. In the last two years Biafra has come down off the spoken-word pulpit to cut two fantastic albums of music in response to the current world situation. He is stopping by the Black Cat to play some of his new tunes but also to update some of his old Dead Kennedy’s songs. Not in an attempt to cash in (like that other band playing tonight) but to highlight how little progress America has made as a nation since he originally wrote these songs 25 years ago.

I’m sure musically both of these concerts tonight are going to be great. But if you call yourself a punk with a straight-face and you criticize “the man” and you complain about how nobody “makes a difference” then ideologically there is really only one show to go to tonight and it is the one that is $10 cheaper.

DC9 was packed to the gills with sweet sounds all night this Sunday as four great bands and two great DJ’s (if I do say so myself) created a sonic atmosphere unlike most shows to come through DC.

My DJ partner and I were spinning music there under our Re:sonance DJ’s moniker and achieved something we’ve been talking about doing for a long time. To spin music thematically related to the bands playing to create an all-night experience for the audience. There was a nice sized crowd for our debut and everyone there seemed to be really into it. Thanks to all those who came out and double thanks for all the nice compliments on our music.

Of course the bands were the main event. Rob Montejo, fomerly of mid-90′s american shoegazers Smashing Orange, treated the audience to a one man guitar strum fest washing over his heartfelt crooning. From New York came Loaded Dreams who played an etheral but surprisingly rocking set of tunes that fell somewhere between Throwing Muses and Cocteau Twins. DC girl-band 54 got the crowd bopping with their infectious minimalist pop. And then headliners Alcian Blue brought the roof down with what is probably their loudest set yet that I have had the good fortune to see.

In all it was a great night of good music and good fun. We’ll be spinning with Alcian Blue again in November so if you missed us this time you’ll have another chance to catch us and them!

When I come back in my next life, I want to come back as a corrupt academic in a University President’s job. What a sweet gig that is. Benny Ladner, in addition to getting to keep the stuff he used University funds to pay for, gets over $3 million in severance. Wow. What a fucking golden parachute that is. Apparently, he was pushing for almost twice that.

You have got to be fucking kidding me. $6 Mil? For embezzling shit from the university and using university funds to pay for your personal parties and travel junkets. Boy, it must be reeeeeal nice. Of course, when he left, he sent this jewel of an email:

“Nancy and I will always regard the opportunity we had to serve American University for eleven years as a great honor and privilege. We are especially grateful for the quiet but strong support expressed by so many friends, colleagues and students.”

Translation: Thanks suckers!

If I were a student at American, I’d be really, really pissed off that their tuition money was going to this asshole’s pockets

When WHFS went off the air suddenly last year, the city lost a good radio station, but there was one thing that made me happy: The Junkies went off the air. Four guys who clearly haven’t left college mentally, and are stuck in some sort of bizarro Peter Pan situation. Unable to grow up into men, they’re stuck in some awkward teenage phase, complete with jargon, obsession with boobs and an enlarged ego concerning their sports knowledge. Well, they’re back. In January they’re taking over WJFK’s morning drivetime slot.

Expect lots of inside jokes, DC/Maryland accents, calling people “donkey” and more vapid sports discussion. You want sports junkies? Put Wilbon and Kornheiser on the air. These guys are living out their Wayne’s World dream on the radio, and sadly we get to pay the price with yet another dead station on the dial.

XM anyone?