h/t Consumerist

As companion events to its Classic Film Festival that’s taking place in Hollywood, Turner Classic Movies has organized several one-night-only screenings around the country, with each city showing a film set there. So, Bostonians can watch The Verdict, or Chicagoans can watch The Lady from Shanghai.

But we here in DC might be the luckiest of all! Tomorrow night at the Avalon Theatre, TCM will be showing The More The Merrier (1943). This classic of the screwball comedy genre stars the always hilarious Jean Arthur (whom you’ll recognize from that other DC-based classic, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) and Joel McCrea, and features an Oscar-winning performance by Charles Coburn. They’re all jammed together in one tiny apartment, when DC was stuffed full to the gills with war workers and soldiers during World War II. Naturally, hijinks ensue!  If you’ve ever lived in those thousands of housing units that popped up all over the District and its immediate environs during the war, you’ll have a special appreciation.

The More The Merrier is hilarious, but it’s all in service of a great love story. It’s famous for one of the most romantic and sexy scenes in all of classic cinema:

We’ve all had a moment like that, right?  When you don’t want to say goodbye, or hang up the phone, or close the door at the end of the night.

The screening will be hosted by TCM’s weekend host, Ben Mankiewicz and George Stevens, Jr. Tickets can be downloaded for free here, but seating is limited and first-come, first served so get there early! I know I won’t miss it.

Now that winter’s coming on, the pandas’ activity level will be increasing (please let it snow!  they’re supercharged-adorable in the snow!) — and “early next year” is only a few short weeks away — so it’s a great time to squeeze in one last visit.

Tai Shan and Mei Xiang, 2006 (courtesy Bernardo Piereck)

We love you, Tai Shan, and we’ll miss you!

Now, Tian Tian, Mei Xiang, let’s get busy working on another baby before you have to move back to China too!

Ben’s has been featured in just about every travelogue related to DC that one can think of!   Recent expansions include the new Nationals Ballpark and Ben’s Next Door.

We at DC Metblogs want to express our heartfelt condolences to the Ali family.  Rest in peace, Ben, and thanks for creating such a great place for us Washingtonians to love.

Ben's on U Street (wikimedia). Thanks for everything!

With the advent of Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol” this coming  Tuesday, the secret societies of the DC area are bracing for a sudden onrush of tourists to their places of…secrecy, I guess?  As early as Tuesday night (Seriously-how long does it take to read a Dan Brown book?) throngs of Dan Brown devotees could be showing up at your local Masonic lodge asking if they could just “poke around a bit.”  This story in yesterday’s WaPo (while taking shot after shot at Dan Brown and his audience) details how even little places like Rosslyn Chapel Trust see an explosion in tourism based on their supposed (and by supposed I mean created for a work of fiction by a writer of fiction, but it sounds real) connection to the lost mysteries of Christ.  Where Professor Robert Langdon goes, so go the masses.

No doubt, there will be an increase to some of these probable locales (THANKS Matt Lauer!) and you’re likely to get some folks bugging you with stupid half right facts about secret societies for the next two years (just in time for a movie to come out and start it all over again), it doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun.  For your entertainment, here are some ideas for how to deal with tourists in search of a “Secret Washington:”

1.) Stage an argument near one of these likely destination.   Have one person imploring desperately for help from another.  Just as it reaches a fever pitch, and just as your target is in ear shot, say “Will no one help the Widow’s Son?”   Then cast shifty looks all around, and sneak off together to go do something Masonic-y.

2.) Go on one of the inevitable tours that will blossom from this, and while looking at something old and mysterious (there is bound to be something), bend over and mutter “Oh my God..” just loud enough for others to hear.  Bring a little make-up brush and start dusting something carefully and say “Oh…it just can’t be!”  Feel free to exclaim “I found it” (specify it if you have read the above book and know something that could have been found) as you rush away from the tour.  Bonus:  Have two friends ready, dressed very neatly in suits, come “collect” you when you make your discovery.  Be sure to protest the entire time you are being escorted out-especially that the others “have a right to know!”

3.) Striking up a conversation with one of these folks, start to mention some of the “rumors” you’ve heard of hidden places in DC, full of “mystery” and “wonder.”  When they inquire as to where these places are, say you’ve only heard rumor (and maybe, saw on a map just once) of places tourists never get to see-places only referred to “NorthEast” and “SouthEast”…or was it “SouthWest”, you can’t really remember.  (And let’s face it, most of NE and SE are hidden, mysterious places for tourists despite some of the neat things they offer).

4.) When a Fan-Tourist (Foorist?) tells you something that is clearly wrong or made up from the novel, but wants to pass it off as half truth, say “pfft.  That’s not how it happened in National Treasure.”  If they press you that National Treasure was “just a movie”, well, I think you can figure out what to do from there.  (Side Note:  Why didn’t National Treasure create this kind of fervor?  Those movies were pretty fun!)

5.) Get some sidewalk chalk and just start writing stuff that sounds mysterious on the sidewalk like or “AOFACFSOA FSZWBEIC EIOA ZOHSFWQWOA OQQSDW” other things from the book’s twitter page. (note:  that might actually be illegal or considered defacing property-so be warned).

6.)  Introduce them to the people still in line at Five Guy’s and Ray’s Hell Burger from when President Obama went there.  Have them exchange stories of obsessiveness.

7.) Tell them “Walk left, Stand Right.”  Nothing to do with the book, but they are likely to be tourists.

Other suggestions?

A girl's best friend? (wikimedia)

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, as you probably know, is the home of the infamous Hope Diamond.  This huge, beautiful  blue diamond came into the museum’s possession in 1958, after it was donated by Harry Winston, Inc.  It’s famous for its size (45.52 carats), its color (“fancy dark grayish-blue”), and its “curse”.

But now, the Smithsonian wants to jazz things up a bit.  They are planning to put the diamond in a brand-new setting, one of three possibilities designed by the aforementioned Winston jewellers.  Which one?  Well, that depends on you!  You can vote for your favorite of the three settings,  on the Smithsonian Channel website.

The good news is, that while the winning setting is being made, the diamond will be shown on its own, outside of any setting.  According to the museum, it’s never been publicly shown that way before.  Cool!

The bad news is, we’ve only got three settings to choose from, and to my eye none of them are really a “Dynasty was cancelled in 1989, so vote for this elegant new classic” version.  What do you think, DC?  Am I too conservative?

So, click on over and vote for your favorite, before the deadline on Monday, September 7!  Then plan your visits to the museum to see the Hope Diamond has been up till now, as it is by itself, and as it will be, in its new setting.  (I hear there are cool dinosaurs and some recent ocean-related thingy over there, too.)

Saturday, we all woke up to news-channel remembrances and the funeral being broadcast from the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Boston before his internment at Arlington National Cemetery, next to two of his three brothers (the fourth, and eldest, Joe Jr. was killed in WWII and never recovered).  While I was watching, I decided to head down to view the procession as it went down Memorial Drive to the cemetery. I’d seen the Reagan and Ford funeral processions so making the trip down to ANC would just be keeping up my own little tradition. (Story continues after the jump.)

Waiting for the procession

I hopped on the Metro and arrived on Memorial Drive at about 3 PM.  I wasn’t alone, but when I first arrived there were more press than anything else.  However, as the hot day wore on, more and more arrived to wave goodbye to a popular figure in DC, and the last Kennedy Brother.  Some mourners arrived with homemade signs, some had chairs to relax on, some had umbrellas to hide from the sun. The really smart folks brought their own snacks and water – we ended up waiting in the muggy heat for several hours longer than we had expected due to bad weather in Boston.  The woman next to me checked progress on her Blackberry and kept me posted.

Get behind the barricade!

I was next to the visitor’s gate of the cemetery, between the Metro station and the Women in Military Service memorial.  The nearby journalists were constantly trawling for interviews, but only a few of us acquiesced.  Since the cemetery was open (though the Kennedy burial site closed in preparation), we were treated to hours of entertainment by the senior security man at the entrance. He corralled his folks, the tour buses, the traffic, and us spectators enthusiastically all afternoon long!  Only a few protesters were in attendance – the same anti-papists who protested the Pope’s visit last year.  They stuck by the Metro station escalators waving their signs.

Free Speech

As the procession began to approach people began to encroach on the roadway, and mounted Park Police came out for crowd control.  There was one particular group who didn’t seem to want to move, but a strategic placement of  horse-puckey put them back with the rest of us.  (It seemed somehow wrong to be laughing with the procession just a few minutes away, but we really couldn’t help it.)  With just a few minutes to go, the last group of journos polled for opinion on Kennedy, and why folks had come by.  A little boy, perhaps eight years old who was perched on the fence next to me stopped the last reporter just as he was moving away and made a great, heartfelt statement.  He was interviewed by Al-Jazeera English – I wonder if he made it on the air? (I don’t get that channel!)

Soon the procession itself arrived, and suddenly the crowd broke out into spontaneous, yet quiet applause.  Some people in the crowd called out, “Kennedy! Kennedy!” as the cars and buses carrying attendees went by.  And the Kennedys seemed overwhelmed by the affection the crowd showed.  I hadn’t realized that they were driving by with the windows open, waving back at the crowd.  Vicki Kennedy, the senator’s widow, was simply waving and saying, “Thank you,” over and over.  No matter what one might think of them politically, I have to feel that was an amazingly generous thing for them to do.  After forty-five years of public funerals, I don’t think anyone would have blamed them if they’d kept the windows closed.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, 1932-2009

Mrs. Kennedy waves back at the crowd

Anyway…we went to The Occidental, which is one of those places that’s stereotypically Washingtonian (walls covered with politicians’ photos, luxe banquettes hiding the fat cats as they wheel and deal) and which I have always wanted to visit.  It is also, however, located in the Willard and is one of the more expensive places in town, so naturally I haven’t been there.  So, Restaurant Week is the perfect time to check it out.  This year’s price point, $35.09 for three courses, is lower than the price of several entrees on the regular menu, so that is what I call a bargain!

The place is, of course, beautiful; our server was crisp, friendly, and fast, and the food was omnomnom delicious.  Reasonable portion sizes, beautifully presented.  I had risotto, steak, and a chocolate dessert.  All of which was fabulous!  My companions each had different appetizers and one of them had a different entree, and we each tried a bit of the other.  I can tell you that everything which came to the table was wonderful.  The plating was nice, the aromas were terrific, and the flavors were great.  Our cocktails were even mixed well.

Now, Occidental is one of the best places around.  It’s not surprising that the food and drink were thoroughly enjoyable.  What was especially pleasant for me, was that the service was just as wonderful as if we were running up a $500 check.  Folks who complain about RW often complain that the service is bad because the places are so busy.  I’ve been RW-ing for long enough, though, to realize that the best bargains are at the best places.  Occidental, 701, Tosca, etc.  They know how to run their dining room, and they know that the real purpose of RW is to give a person like me a wonderful experience, so that I will go back and pay full price.

Which I will.

Bravo, Occidental!

DC Restaurant Week, August 24 – 30.  Don’t despair, many restaurants (including Occidental) are extending their RW offerings.  Book your table!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaSpaBk6o8w[/youtube]

Since DC is in the middle of its own Military District, there are always lots of things to do and see if you’re interested in military affairs, or pageantry, at all.  There are several units which perform tattoos or sunset parades around town during the summer, and all of the armed forces’ vocal and instrumental groups give concerts all season long; mostly outdoors, and almost all free.  I’ve listed just a few choices below.  Check them out!

• Twilight Tattoo – 3rd I.D., U.S. Army.  Fort McNair, 410 P Street, SW.  Wednesdays, 7 PM.  Free.  (Last tattoo is next Wednesday, July 1!)
• Sunsets with a Soundtrack – West Steps of the U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC.  Free.  Most Fridays at 8 PM.
• U.S. NAVY Band – US Navy Memorial – 701 PENNSYLVANIA AVE., N.W. – TUESDAYS, JUNE 2 – AUGUST 25 AT 8 P.M. Free
• U.S. Navy Band – U.S. CAPITOL (WEST SIDE) MONDAYS, JUNE 1 – AUGUST 31 AT 8 P.M. Free.
• Air Force Summer Concert Series – Wednesday and Friday nights at 8 p.m., from June 3 through Aug. 28 at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va. Free.
• Marine Barracks Washington – Sunset Parade, Iwo Jima Memorial.  Tuesdays, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. 2 June – 11 August 200.  Free.
• And finally, the “President’s Own” Marine Band is playing tonight (June 25) at the Sylvan Theatre (Washington Monument) at 8 PM.

SS-20 at NASM*

The three most popular museums on the Mall are now open from 10:00 AM through 7:30 PM daily (except when there’s a special event scheduled).  Hours apply at the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of American History, and the National Museum of Natural History until Labor day!  If you, like me, have still not been to visit the newfangled Star-Spangled Banner exhibit, or the Einstein Planetarium, or the new Ocean Hall, because you’re just too tired after a hard week’s work to fight the crowds on the weekend – now is your chance!

I have taken full advantage of the later hours (11:30 AM – 7:00 PM daily) at the National Portrait Gallery/American Art Museum on 8th Street.  It’s thisclose to my Metro stop, Gallery Place, so I visit quite often in the winter when I commute on the bus and train.  In the summer, I bike commute, and my ride takes me down the Mall past the three biggies each workday.  Now, when I’m overcome by the urge to visit the SS20 missile at the Air and Space Museum, I’ll be able to stop in on the way home.

So, DC, take advantage of your free museums, and if you’ve got any touristy visitors coming this summer, be sure to let them know!

*photo by flickr user ptufts, used under a Creative Commons license