My pal P.Q. sent me an invite to what appears to be a pillow fight scheduled for tomorrow at The National Mall. In recognition of International Pillow Fight Day, Capital Improv is organizing the local fight in Washington, DC. According to the invite over 400 people participated in last year’s fight and there’s already well over 1,500 RSVP’s for the event. It’s no surprise that the success of the snowball fights this winter have fueled interest in flash mob-type events like this one.

If you are interested make sure you read the complete rules on the Facebook invite: no down pillows, respect people with cameras.

The invite states to arrive with a pillow but keep it out of sight. Head towards the World War II monument side of the Washington Monument and wait for a fake shouting match to occur- that will be your cue to take sides and get in on the action. The fight will last for 15 minutes and then attempt to move to Dupont Circle.

Really ambitious for a pillow fight to move across the city.

Eighteenth Street Lounge courtesy Flickr user dionhinchcliffe

I feel like a reality show extra just thinking about it.

I was a little excited to hear that a new reality show was going to be filmed in The District. Blonde Charity Mafia doesn’t sound like anything lasting more than a season so it would of been nice to see some random rich people frolic around DC for our amusement and ridicule while it lasted. It was also entertaining to hear that Bravo is bringing The Real Housewives franchise here as well, that to me is more of a yawn- BCM is more my age group. But now everyone is buzzing over speculation and confirmation of The Real World DC and all of a sudden it’s exciting to live in DC again. Not that living in the Capital of the United States and center of politics means anything.

While everyone is talking about it, not everybody is a fan of the future season of the show, and could care less. But that alone means something because as Brightest Young Things has written so elegantly, “DC loves to care about not caring about stuff.”

why.i.hate.dc has already made some predictions of what the next six months could hold, I started thinking if I would run into while I’m out enjoying myself.

Now I’m not one of those that are already planning stake-outs around 2000 S street NW, but with all this buzz and news I started thinking what kind of bars and clubs would the cast of The Real World visit. I don’t watch the show but still I tried to put myself into the shoes of a Producer or Location Manager and come up with the best bars for running into The Real World cast.

Even though the house is in Dupont Circle, most bars are probably fair game given that it only takes a short cab ride to get around town. But let’s say they wanted to stay close to home, where would they go? Let’s look at some options:

Bar Around The Corner: The Black Fox Lounge

Located on 1723 Connecticut Avenue, NW, The Black Fox is one of the closest nightspots to The Real World home. Not much else is known about the place, the website sports an, “Opening 2009” target. What better way to open a brand new place than to get some future D-list MTV stars to hang out there?

Gazuza courtesy of Flickr user M.V. Jantzen

Glam, Yet Chill: Gazuza

Gauzuza maybe more of a dark horse since the atmosphere is more laid back however the look is sleek, modern, and what DP would pass up a crane shot of the cast dining on the Hookah Lounge’s signature patio overlooking Connecticut Ave?

The Neighborhood Hangout: The Front Page & Lucky Bar

Front Page and Lucky Bar are neighborhood favorites for me and others, I can see these two hangouts on nights where a dance club isn’t on the docket. The clientele is young, the places always look packed, and  it’s the perfect place to dish drama from the night before where they went to…

The Dance Club: Eighteenth Street Lounge

It’s may not be the stereotypical dance club in design, but that’s exactly why I think Eighteenth Street has a chance to receive a visit from the housemates. The unique layout and atmosphere will provide a new look for the predictable night ahead: the guys get drunk and hit on beautiful women, the girls get plastered and start a cat-fight (if the guys haven’t started a brawl already.) Plus the relationship between the lounge and music label ESL Music could also help negotiate a, “random visit” one night.

If you were the Producer, where would you send cast on a night out?

"Embassy Row" courtesy of Flickr user joseph_a

It’s no secret that Washington, DC is the hub of foreign diplomacy where within the city limits there are 174 or so embassies. Now you’ll be able to take a step inside and look around some of these foreign posts as Passport DC kicks off it’s annual Embassy Open House.

30 embassies located around the city will be opening their doors and welcoming visitors. These diplomatic posts will be offering music, food, and tours of their facilities. Visit the Embassy of Sri Lanka and try some Ceylon Tea; observe a Taekwondo demonstration at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea; listen to traditional African music at the Embassy of Botswana. Did I mention that it’s all free?

The Embassy Open House is going on from 10 AM – 4 PM tomorrow, Saturday May 2nd. There will be shuttles leaving from 1900 Massachusetts Avenue, NW (Dupont Circle) and will loop Massachusetts Avenue, Connecticut Avenue, and lower New Hampshire Avenue. The open house is truly city wide- not just Embassy Row, so take advantage of the transportation and the chance to get a little cultured.

I almost feel like the CNN team with all the Inaugural posting we have going on right now. DC Metblogs certainly has things covered with our team captain Anthony throwing parties at midnight in order to stay up and try and get to today’s concert. We also have Metblogs creator Sean in town who’s also chiming in with his perspective.

That also means that I won’t be remaining quiet this weekend, in fact I’ve already declared my weekend a “Weekend of Destruction.” That means every day til Wednesday will probably be a day I will rock out- leading to a destruction of my health, morals, and what little social life I had to begin with. It only makes sense I declare this a Weekend of Destruction- after all DC is technically in a state of emergency.

So let me share with you my nightlife last night.

While DC has been pretty satisfied with the extended bar hours, the crowds are only starting to come out. On my way to Dupont Circle the metro was packed from the Caps game that just ended however I did see a lot more suitcases than usual in my crowded car. I also noticed that there were a whole lot of tour buses dropping folks off when I got to Dupont.

The Big Hunt was terribly crowded but I was out pretty early at the point- the crowds grew as the hour approached midnight- luckily there was still a whole lot more nightlife to go.

I met up with some friends at Columbia Heights house party which was ok but the keg was kicked soon after my arrival and my crew and I were soon walking over to The Wonderland Ballroom which would of been cool since I’ve never been there but when we arrived we found out they were one of the unlucky ones that decided not to go for the late night license.

That reminds me, make sure you check out the Washington Post’s list of bars open late so you don’t make the same mistake we did.

We ended up grabbing a taxi over to U-Street where Local 16 was finishing up a priviate Inaugural party on their deck (it looked really nice all tented and heated.)

It was great being able to stay out til 4 AM last night- what I didn’t like was trying to get a taxi to get myself back into Virginia. It appears that a few cabs that we stopped didn’t want to leave The District. Concerns over security? Did anyone else encounter this?

Well today should be a little more chill- unlike Anthony I won’t be heading out to the concert but I will be enjoying the Ravens/Steelers game tonight and maybe try out another neighborhood.

As G. and I drove back into DC late on Sunday night, I commented that “there’s nothing like a weekend in New York City to make you feel like you live in a backwater town.”  The lack of cars! The empty sidewalks!  The open sky!  DC was so… peaceful after the jam-packed-24-hour-ness of NYC.

Okay, so their Chinatown trumps ours.  But a brief comparison between the Union Square Farmer’s Market and the Dupont Circle Farmer’s Market revealed similar pricing for at least the basics we looked over.  And we didn’t see anything there we don’t get here, so perhaps our lower population density isn’t always a disadvantage.

photo by lilivanili.

And no, I’m not talking about a match-up between the Washington Nationals and the Seattle Mariners.  While South Capitol and N street has played host to Washington DC’s biggest cupcakes this year, there is a whole other battle involving the literal confections. 

That’s right-a cupcake cook-off.  Thanks to Washwords (who loves her cupcakes too) I’ve been tipped off that tonight, at 6:30pm, The Washington Club is hosting the first annual DC Cupcake Contest, and if you haven’t RSVP’d that is apparently no problem.  According to Blonde’s I-View showing up at the door in business attire and with $5 to donate will gain you entry to the “sugary wonderland” inside.  It looks like five cupcakeries and eight individuals will be vying for the top spot at this, I must say, delicious sounding competition.

As an aside, I have to say that this brings up a question that’s been bubbling in my mind.  What is it with DC and cupcakes?  Is it me or does there seem to be a bigger connection than “We are a bunch of busy people who love a good sugar rush?”  I can’t seem to go four feet with out someone giving me a Cupcakerie recommendation-and up until today, I didn’t think that was a real word!  The Post is running a contest which I’ve got several solicitations to vote for from friends, and I found DelleiciousDC in my research today-which is a blog that is devoted to cupcakes….in DC.  It’s not even cupcakes in general, it’s regional!  (It was also a fascinating read, btw.)

So how about it DC?  Am I missing something or is this really just about our love for frosting covered cake in a circular form?  Are you going tonight or do you have a cupcake suggestion you want to pass along?

I for one will be watching our metaphorical cupcakes probably post their 100th L of the year weather permitting.

The After Hours blog over at The Washingtonian just updated their list of bars where fans of different NFL teams meet. I didn’t know 18th Amendment was the place to see the Panthers or Pour House was the place to watch the Steelers. As a native Bostonian I wish I found this list earlier! I was wondering what would be a good bar to watch the Patriots season opener (and Tom Brady’s season closer.)

I ended up going over to Buffalo Billiards in Dupont Circle- which ended up being a great place to go. They had all the games up on the numerous screens across the bar and the crowds were manageable. I sure do enjoy watching my favorite team with others but I also enjoy being able to find a table relatively easy. However the service was terribly slow.

Chances are your favorite sports bar will carry the game you want to see- but it’s always fun to watch it with fans of your favorite team. And if you are a local Redskins fan? Check out The Junkies and watch the game wherever they are doing their weekly “Unauthorized Pregame Show”.

Yesterday I rolled out my new electric bike for a new regimen of (fair-weather) bike commuting, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  But, what a day to choose.  It turned out that a young cyclist was struck and killed by a garbage truck in a tragic, but textbook, “right-hook” collision.  According to the Post, no charges have yet been filed, but the driver and cyclist were both identified in the paper’s coverage.  The Washington Area Bicyclist Association is having a memorial today, and hopefully the MPD will be following up as well. 

D.C. Assistant Police Chief Patrick Burke said that he used to commute to work on his bike along the street where Swanson was killed. With rising gas prices, he said he expects to see more cyclists and pedestrians in the streets.”It’s imperative that drivers are cognizant of this and that we all share the road,” Burke said.         

I’m thankful that most of my commute is trail-based – nary a garbage truck in sight.

I was pretty sure that my good friend and colleague Jonny Goldstein (of Jonny’s Par-Tay) was never going to warm up to a city like Washington, DC. He moved here the same time I did, about two years ago, and I could tell that DC didn’t really have the spark he had come to love about the Big Apple after ten years there.

We met up at the Brickskeller with Andy Carvin one summer evening after the three of us had moved here independently within a month of each other and I sensed, from how Jonny described his DC experiences thus far, that he found the place serviceable but not necessarily interesting beyond the obvious tourist sites. I was excited to have moved somewhere with built-in friends and was a bit sad that Jonny may not be satisfied enough with the area to make it his home.

This is why I was happy to see the serene emotions in his post about five really cool things that happened to him in DC within about 90 minutes:

So, for all my griping, DC sometimes surprises me with little moments like these. And I appreciate that this former swamp has turned into a city that every once in a while even a jaded dude like me can appreciate.

Jonny, I know you won’t be here forever, but I am glad you have warmed up to the place a little. Hopefully when you go back to New York, whenever that may be, you will take positive memories with you, not just the occasional soullessness of the city and the bleak strip malls that pockmark the roads and highways. It’s a different kind of high here, but one definitely worth trying and I am glad you eventually inhaled deeply enough to get it.

To anyone lucky enough to have ended up here, like Jonny and me, I offer you this hope – give this city, in fact, the whole area, a fair chance. You’d be surprised how at home you can feel after just a short stay.

Readers, I would love to know what brought you here, what has kept you here and what do you find here in the DC area that you can’t get anywhere else. Please chime in.

One of the most fantastic things about the internet is the way it hooks us up with information and people. Want to know how to build your rain barrel? Instructables has several different articles. Trying to figure out something in Burnout: Paradise City? Watch one of the almost 3,000 videos on YouTube.

Or you can use it to connect a lot of people who want to teach others in person. That’s what the people behing Learnapalooza are doing. There’s currently over thirty sessions scheduled to happen on May 10th which will cover everything from geeky stuff like writing a Facebook application to more granola things like how and why to eat local food. If you wish you weren’t writing facebook apps you can learn some hip-hop dance or more general skills for dancing at a party. The schedule lists 31 events at the moment, all in donated locations.

I agree with their central idea – everyone has something to teach others – and think this is just a great idea. Get out and learn something!