Is it seriously summer already? Hold on, let me Google that. Oh hey! It’s not.

Could have fooled me though. This is August weather. In June. What kind of cruel joke is Mother Nature trying to play on us?

This reminds me of the weather we had in ‘Nam during the war. I remember it like it was yesterday. The swift boat dropped John Kerry and I off on the banks of the Poo Nahnee river and we had to cut our way through the humidity with our machetes. We had to tie rolls of Bounty to our heads to mop up the constant stream of sweat. We got heat stroke so many times that our reality was more like a dreamworld than our dreamworld was. Hah - one time when we were crossing the Moo Goo Gai Pan river under sniper fire, John tried to windsurf across on a crocodile. Silly ivy leaguer. I came to his rescue and beat the bajeezus out of that croc with the butt of my gun, but lost it along with three fingers and a buttock in the process. I had to retrofit a potato gun I’d bought at Wall Drug on a family vacation into a tofu gun. Now you know why I’ll never be a vegan.

I’ve had enough already! I want my dry, 75 degree days back. I want to be able to open my windows at night. I don’t want to have to take three showers every day. I don’t want to have to run my air conditioner around the clock. I don’t want my jeans to stick to me when I go out at night.

Go away, Summer.

For those of you donut fanatics out there, have I got a deal for you! If you sign up as a Friend of Krispy Kreme they will give you not a dozen, not a half dozen, not even three, but ONE free glazed donut. Not a chocolate donut. Not a sprinkles donut. Not a cream filled donut. Not a coconut donut. Not a donut hole. Not a glazed cinnamon donut. Not a cinnamon apple filled donut. Not a cinnamon bun. Not a powdered donut. Not a glazed blueberry donut. Not a New York cheesecake donut.

Just one Original Glazed® donut. One.

And for that, you agree to be bombarded by their marketing team with e-mails and who knows what else!

But you really must love donuts. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to stop at the Krispy Kreme in Dupont tonight for dinner!

It’s a rare thing to catch a photo like this of Ms. Picciotto. An icon of DC, she has been protesting the use of nuclear arms since the 80’s, through the Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II administrations. No doubt she will be parked on the north side of the White House through the Clinton/Obama/McCain era too. While her dedication is admirable, it’s obvious that her efforts are falling on deaf ears. Regardless, God bless America, a country that gives us to right to protest in peace.

From what I’ve heard, Concepcion is rather camera shy which is what caught my eye when I saw this photo by Mai-Trang Dang. I asked Mai if she had to ask Picciotto for permission to take her photo but she evidently was in the mood to vogue that day. According to Mai:

She posed for 7-8 shots, at least. She had just put down a sign she was holding up while chanting her protest about Bush…I can’t remember exactly what it said. I work right next to Lafayette Park, so I see her quite often, usually on the way to lunch. I’ve heard the secret service guys talk about how she’s got an apartment somewhere, but I’ve never asked her about it. It seems plausible; to be blunt, she doesn’t have the odor of someone who’s actually living in Lafayette Park and she does change her clothes daily, as far as I’ve noticed.

I’ve tried to make heads or tails of this website dedicated to her story, but my eyes and brain start to hurt within a few minutes. I don’t know if Conception (aka “Connie”) is mentally capable of holding a normal conversation, but if so, it would make for an interesting interview indeed.

Has anyone else taken any good photos of her? If so, please share, and tell us what you know about her.

Get ready folks. One of my favorite local bands, The Jones, is headlining at The Rock & Roll Hotel this Friday. Self described as “a kind of bluesy rock and roll”, this solid trio has a unique throwback sound and raw musical talent that is hard to come by nowadays. Think Stones. Think Hendrix. Think The Black Keys. Think The Jones.

I can’t think of a better way to kick off your holiday weekend than with a killer show at one of DC’s best music venues. There’s nothing like seeing local bands before they hit the big leagues, as these guys are sure to do.

The Jones
The Known Unknowns
In Technicolor
No Compromise

Friday, May 23RD @ The Rock & Roll Hotel
1353 H ST NE

Doors @ 8, Show @ 9, $10 cover

Apparently President Bush may have actually lost money during his tenure in the white house. According to the Washington Post, his “financial fortunes appear to have declined over the past seven years, with his family assets dropping as low as $6.5 million”. So let’s see, he “won” two elections but then lost a bunch of money, lost nearly everyone’s respect, and is in the process of losing a war.

I guess that proves that he really is a loser?

While I’m not really a proponent of fast food intake on a regular basis (and am all for a fast food tax), I do love me some Taco Bell.

It’s been a huge part of my life since I was, oh I dunno, 10 years old? My best friend and I would ride our bikes to the Border after a long day of fishing for Bluegill in Denver. He always got the pintos and cheese which I thought was a disgusting choice. I much preferred the Taco Bell Grande, minus the tomatoes. In high school my friends and I would hit up the Bell after a crazy night on the town and laugh hysterically about the gas that ensued. One friend purposely tried to maximize the amount of refried beans he consumed, purely for the fire power. As a poor college student, my friends and I would walk across campus in our pajamas to feast on a twelve pack of tacos. I guess you could say that it’s been a staple part of my diet for a long time now.

But now living in DC I am deprived of the grade F meaty goodness. Please don’t tell me to eat at the Taco Bell/KFC combo at 14th & U. That place is a disgrace to the Taco Bell establishment. “Yes, I’d like a burrito supreme with a side order of hepatitis. Oh, and a Mountain Dew with extra mildew in my ice cubes.” Luckily we are fortunate to have a nearby state called Virginia that is full of strip malls and fast food restaurants, enabling me to treat myself to a Mexican Pizza now and then, and for that I thank you*. My stomach thanks you.

If you’re listening, Taco Bell, hear my plea. We have McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and entirely too many Subways. All I’m asking for is one good Taco Bell. Trust me, my friends and I will keep you in business.

* - I also thank Virginia for the hot women who seem to migrate into the city during the night and vanish when the sun comes up.

Photo by Porky Jupp.

Just as I predicted, Smart cars are beginning to infiltrate DC. Not that I’m Nostradamus or something, I mean these cars are cheap and built for city living so it’s no surprise that they’re starting to zoom around like giant mosquitoes.

But are they safe? Yes they are. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has given it top crash scores, however their president Adrian Lund says, “All things being equal in safety, bigger and heavier is always better. But among the smallest cars, the engineers of the Smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package.”

I’m half tempted to buy one for myself, but I’m not sure how well I’d fit into one and plus, do chicks dig them?

Photo by kazze.

The D.C. Council decided on Tuesday that in order to make up for a $35 million budget shortfall they would increase the tax on cigarettes by $1, bringing it up to $2/pack. That will put us in a tie with Arizona, Alaska, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, and Michigan for one of the highest “state” tax rates on cigarettes. Oh right, we’re not a state. We just pay an exorbitant amount of taxes. How easily I forget such silly things.

So what is the Council’s message here? My only guess is this:

People who smoke are evil. It’s a disgusting habit that’s bad for your health. Maybe if we charge you an extra dollar per pack of those devil sticks, you’ll quit smoking and live a healthy lifestyle like the rest of us. Maybe you’ll even start participating in triathlons like our super healthy mayor does. Die smokers, die!

Of course I could be missing something. I think they should also put a tax on ice cream, donuts, frappacinos with extra whipped cream, pizza, cheeseburgers, chili dogs, chili cheese fries, fettuccine alfredo, and mac ‘n cheese. If you eat enough of those things, you’ll die over time too.

I’m getting too old for this crap. Yesterday was a day I’d been waiting for, a chance to see one of my top 5 favorite bands. Radiohead has turned out so much amazing music over the years that is just my style, a little bit of rock and a little bit of electronica, all tied up with an eerie, melancholic bow. Whenever I hear the first few seconds of “Kid A”, chills shoot up my spine. It’s the type of music that is absolutely made for a gloomy, rainy day.

But not this kind of rain.

Not only did I decide to suck it up and make the trek out to the Nissan Pavilion, something I said I’d never do, but my friends and I endured a torrential rainstorm for three and a half hours. Even in full rain gear we were miserable and cold as were most of the people around us. Of course there were the young kids wearing shorts and t-shirts who thought it was cool to be soaking wet in 50 degree weather, as if it was adding to their concert experience somehow, but I’m no kid and I experienced no addition of fun. We kept debating about whether we should just leave before Radiohead even came on (the opening act sucked BTW), but the longer we waited, the longer we thought, “Well we’ve stayed this long. Let’s wait until they come on, hear a few songs, then head out.” Which is exactly what we did.

Their set design was cool and their performance pretty much mimicked what you hear on their CD’s, but after three songs we decided that we’d heard enough, endured enough misery, and decided to head back to DC. Via Taco Bell that is, because I mean, “When in Rome.”

Overall it was one of the worst experiences I’ve had in a long time, but it could have been much worse and it had nothing to do with Radiohead themselves. Well, aside from choosing to play at the Nissan Pavilion rather than some place like the Verizon Center or RFK Stadium where the masses could have used public transportation instead of driving out into the middle of nowhere. At least I can say that I’ve seen them in concert, albeit for three songs. If they go on tour again, rest assured I will be buying tickets for one of their indoor performances.

Photo by myjacketisinthekitchen.

Today marks the opening of Artomatic 2008 or what should be called “More Art Than You Can Shake a Stick At 2008″. This annual show promises to be bigger and better than ever this year, taking over the empty ten story Capitol Plaza office building and housing the work of about 1,000 artists. Yes. 1,000 artists. Not exactly something you can see all of in a casual walk through. Something tells me I’m going to have to make multiple trips to the show and even then probably won’t catch everything.

So what is Artomatic you ask? Their website sums it up best by saying:

Artomatic is a month-long multimedia arts event that draws together visual artists, musicians and performers and brings their work to the community without charge.

I had toyed around with the idea of exhibiting in this year’s show but just couldn’t get my act together in time. Picking a series of photos, printing them (bleh), framing them (bleh and cha-ching!), printing business cards, painting the walls of my space, arranging lighting…way too much work for me to tackle. I am, however, excited to see the work of many of my friends at this year’s show including Marie Kwak, Eric Petersen, Kyle Gustafson, Angela Kleis, and Jason Colston.

The show opens at noon today and if you are planning on going tonight (like I am), be prepared for an insane amount of people and chaos. If you want to avoid tonight’s crowd, the show runs until June 15th so you have plenty of time to pay your respects to DC’s art community.

Artomatic
Opening Friday, May 9 - Closing June 15
1200 First St NE
Capital Plaza I - corner of First & M streets NE - NY Ave Metro
Wed-Thu: 5pm-10pm; Fri-Sat: noon-2am; Sun: noon-10pm; closed Mon-Tue
Free admission; donations welcome

Photo by Tracy Lee