I took my darling girlfriend out to dinner at Cafe Atlantico on Friday night for her birthday, and while the entrees were fantastic we didn’t find any deserts that really blew our skirts up.

Yes Wayan, we were indeed both wearing skirts. So nyah.

So we decided to go over to Love Cafe for a happy birthday cupcake. While they didn’t have any candles for us (what’s up with that, Warren? They’re cheap and I’da paid $1 for one! Make a note – new profit center.) they did say that if DG could pony up ID showing that it was her birthday then her cupcake would be free! She did and it was.

So go by on your special day, buy a cup of coffee and enjoy your birthday cupcake. And remember: no matter how much getting older may suck, it beats the only known alternative.

Alexander Ovechkin scored all three goals tonight to beat the Atlanta Thrashers for the first time this season (4-1). The last time these two divisional rivals met, it was more or less one long brawl, including nine major penalties, three suspensions, and $40,000 in combined fines to the coaches. Although the media has been hyping the rematch, no show of force was forthcoming from either team, other than the usual hard checking and a bit of pushing and shoving. Ovechkin’s first goal came on the power play in the first period on a brilliant pass from Zubrus. Why no one was covering the wide-open young Russian sniper is beyond me.

Atlanta tied the game in the second period (Jon Sim, PPG), and in the third they went ahead on an even strength goal by J.P. Vigier.

With 30 seconds left in regulation, and the Thrashers down a man for delay of game, the Caps pulled their second-string goalie Brent Johnson for a sixth attacker. This set-up Ovechkin’s second power play goal, tying the game. It only took six seconds into OT for Alexander “the great” to complete his hat trick and win the game.

Also tonight, the Wizards ended their 16-game skid against Miami, winning 106-95 for the first time since 2003. Now if the Redskins would stop shooting themselves in the foot, DC might have a triple of contender teams.

With WGMS expected to drop its classical music format in favor of Redskins radio in January, WETA FM is has voted to return to a classical format according to DCRTV. That would be quite a turn of events that could ultimately improve the classical music situation in the nation’s capital. Fans (and Metroblogging DC commentors) have criticized the current WGMS for playing “classical pops” instead of concertos, chamber pieces or full symphonies. Many have criticized Redskins owner Dan Snyder’s Red Zebra Broadcasting for buying out the one remaining classical station in town.

So, in the endSnyder’s greed could actually wind up working out in a positive way. I suppose there is a first time for everything.

If you or anybody you know is an out of work mascot, the Capitals want to talk YOU. Courtesy of Off Wing Opinion we learn that the Caps have an immediate opening for the mascot position. Here are a few things they are looking for:

- Ability to skate, dance, do aerobic-style moves and repelling a plus

- Must have past mascot experience or have worked in performance entertainment

- Must possess a current driver’s license

- Must work well with children

- Physically fit and be able to endure extreme heat conditions

If you can get that far along in the process are you able to deal with:

- Create video skits and organize shoots

- Build & order necessary props for Caps games and outside performances

- Maintain costume, clean and make necessary repairs.

- Visits to our minor league affiliate, the Hershey Bears

Oh and there will be long and odd hours too. Sound like fun? Actually it is, trust me. I did a little mascot duty in my day and it was a blast. Let us know how the interview process goes.

Do you live in the D.C. area? Are you here for business? a holiday? or are you one of many internal transplants like me? Are you a soccer football fan? Do you know when Gary Ablett made his debut with Liverpool, F.C.? Perhaps you know that Stevie Nicol was a player/coach for the Boston Bulldogs prior to joining the New England Revolution. Maybe you even know why Grobbelaar went bankrupt in the nineties, but most importantly, you know why the Hillsborough Disaster pulls on the heartstrings of Liverpool fans the world over and that you’ll never walk alone.

Evern if you’re a Chelsea, F.C. fan, I’m sure you know that you’re very own Frankie Lampard is Jamie Redknapp’s counsin. Whether you’re a Spurs fan, a Manc fan or even a Magpie fan, soccer football is the name of your game and you’d like to find the perfect DC-area venue to enjoy watching the match over a proper breakfast and a pint. Chances are, you’re not alone.

If you’re in the Arlington area, you may have ventured over to Summer’s, survey says: Summer’s blows big chunks. Try crossing the street to Ireland’s Four Courts where you’re not forced to buy breakfast in order to watch the match with crappy reception. Four Courts has plenty of room in the bar, unlike Summer’s and will show several matches at once. They’ve been known to show an ARSEnal match at one end, the ‘Pool match in the middle and the Manc match at the other end.

Help a girl out kids. No. 5 Liverpool vs. No. 19 Charlton kicks off at 7:45 a.m. EST tomorrow morning and I want to show the lovely staff at the Courts that there are other eejits out there besides me who’ll get up at the butt-crack of dawn after a night out to support ‘Pool and make their 7:45 a.m. opening worth while. Come out for the game, stay for a slap up breakfast, a pint and the following 10 a.m. matches:

No. 3Arsenal vs. No. 4 Portsmouth;
No. 14 Newcastle vs. No. 20 Watford;
No. 7 Reading vs. No. 17 Blackburn; and
No. 11 Wigan vs. No. 16 The UnitedSheffield United.

Photo by DCMetblogger

Now this is happy hour pricing! Check out those wallet-friendly prices. My favs:

$5 Cuban Mojitos
$8 Corona Buckets

Yep, Santa Rosa Seafood Sports Bar at 18th and Wyoming is on my happy hour list.

While it might not be a Cafe Citron Thursday and maybe lacking the young and beautiful, I know my wallet (and your) will be so much happier.

photo courtesy of Schoschie

Anyone else see that shooting star flash across the sky arounf 6:08pm this evening? Pretty damned cool – it was visible for about a full three seconds and looked like it had calved – I saw two distinct bright dots next to each other.

Just to show that I haven’t entirely left behind the remnants of reaching adulthood during the cold war: As it disappeared off to the southeast I thought “Hope that really WAS a shooting star… wonder if I should close my eyes and look away so I’m not blinded by the flash.”

Downtown After Dark

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

For every commission report and press conference in DC, of which there are approximately 3 gazillion each year, there are the people that appear on the news, and there are the people who make the event Happen. If you see enough of these events in your time here in DC, you frequently miss the people that make these sorts of events possible. Today, I got to be one of those People for the The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce as they launched their report and presented their case to invited guests today at the Grand Hyatt downtown. There’s a ton of work that goes into these events. My partner and I have been planning and plotting the AV for the event for close to a month now, and worked multiple 12 hour days this week making sure everything went off without a hitch.

It’s an amazing thing to watch an event come together, with all the screens and podia and chairs and tables and people working in concert with the space to get it all ready. Last night, as I took a quick break to find a laser point and a presentation remote, I caught this picture of H St. downtown. Downtown DC after dark, as most of the people have cleared out of the business district, as most of the folks who were writing and presenting were off to dinner, is so incredibly peaceful and serene.

In that calm and serenity lie of the very best of DC, in the midst of winter.

So, thank your support staff today, if you’ve ever hosted an event at a downtown hotel, or ever made a presentation. A smile and a thanks on a job well done are never as good as a raise and a nice gift card, but sometimes they’re the best thing you can give someone.

As punishment for losing to the New England Revolution, the DC United, er, wait a second. Let’s stop and have a moment here. I’ve been castigated twice on other blogs this week for using a definite article to refer to the soccer-team-that-plays-at-RFK-and-whose-name-involves-the-concept-of-unification. Is it The DC United? Or just DC United? Does it really fucking matter? The lack of a definite article could mean that there are, in fact, other groups within the District of Columbia who could use the concept of Unification to define themselves without concern for being referred to one for the other?

When I was an MLS fan in 1998-2000 in Columbus, we always referred to DC’s club as “The United,” or, actually it usually involved something to do with them being the team that would paste us at the Crew’s stadium while we ogled the hot soccer chicks (hey, we were dumb college kids, what else could we do? It’s not like fake IDs were readily available…).

Regardless of whether or not our soccer team gets a definite article, they are going to be playing host to the 2007 MLS Cup at RFK Stadium on November 18th, 2007. Tickets will run between $30 and $100 per. No word if you’re allowed to refer to a collection of tickets to said event as “The Tickets.”

Photo by DCMetblogger

Look! Phone books! Wow. I cannot believe they still make those things. I guess there are still couches missing legs. Or maybe it’s a cheap way to heat when firewood runs low.

This is Washington DC, we are all online. Why are there still phone books? And who still uses them? You? Why, pray tell!

All I see are dead trees, killed, wasted for useless blocks of pulp that in the case of my apartment building, wound up tossed in the recycle bin.