Meredith Munoz of Pash
@ Fort Reno
Q:What's your song for summer?
A:"'Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before' by the Smiths, hands down."
IT'S BEEN 24 HOURS since Remy Munasifi uploaded his latest video on YouTube. And if you've got a Twitter feed or a Facebook page or a Gmail account, you've probably already seen it: It's a rap lauding the 28-year-old's Starbucks-laden, Whole Foods-hoppin' 'hood: Arlington, Virginia.
"Arlington: The Rap," which sings the praises of Crate & Barrel and notes the ubiquity of brown flip-flops, has jumped from 300 to 30,000 YouTube views in less than a day. We caught up with Munasifi to quiz him on his, uh, Clarendon street cred.
» EXPRESS: What makes Arlington so hardcore?
» MUNASIFI: It's populated by straight-up thugs. Really, seersucker is a fabric, but it's really a fabric that holds the town together. I was on the Metro and I saw a guy with brown flip-flops and seersucker shorts and I said, 'Yes! This is a video that needs to be made.'
It's a unique place — that's why I moved here. I like it a lot. There are a lot of individuals, unique personalities, creative people. It's kinda artsy. Everybody's real nice, too. It's not something that happens completely up and down the East Coast.
» EXPRESS: The video has gotten a lot of traffic in just 24 hours. Has response been crazy?
» MUNASIFI: That's cool. Now I'm just worried that folks are going to get sick of it; it's only been a day. I'm just happy that folks liked it. I put other videos out there — about something general. But this [song] was about a two-mile radius, so I didn't think it was really going to do [well].
» EXPRESS: Where did the idea come from?
» MUNASIFI: I live in Clarendon now, just a couple blocks from the Metro. I just moved here a few weeks ago and I thought that would be kinda cool to introduce everybody to my new 'hood. I really like Clarendon; I didn't land here by accident. It was like a celebration. I got a couple e-mails yesterday that folks liked it, and I was content with that. So far today it's been more of the same.
SATURDAY: When it's not raining buckets, May evenings in the District can actually be pretty serene — a perfect time for couples to take evening strolls along the Mall to sweetly gaze at our marble monuments.
Just one small problem: Blisters while pounding the pavement from one scenic spot to the next aren't so dreamy. For those seeking nocturnal sightseeing with a breezy zip, sign up for the Potomac Pedal Touring Club's Moonlight National Mall Tour on May 16. Ride your bike on this 18-mile excursion that wends its way past the Reflecting Pool, the National Gallery and the Capitol.
Register at the Tenleytown Metro stop at 8 p.m. for excursions that depart at 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. Head and rear lights are required. Still in a cycling-state of mind when you finish? Cruise over to the Washington Area Bicyclist Association's Bike Prom at the Black Cat — just pick up a corsage on the way.
» 4501 Wisconsin Ave. NW, free, Sat., May 16, 8:30 and 9 p.m., free; Bikepptc.org. (Tenleytown)
Photo courtesy Greg Drury
DIRECTOR JIM JARMUSCH had only the vaguest notion of a film in mind when he asked his friend Isaach de Bankole to play the lead. There was no script, barely even a treatment, just a bundle of themes and ideas with little connective tissue. It was, says the actor, an experience both thrilling and nerve-wracking.
"It was a great pleasure, an act of trust and confidence," says de Bankole, "but at the same time it was a weight on my shoulders."
The result of that collaboration is "The Limits of Control," Jarmusch's 10th feature and his fourth with de Bankole, who was born in Ivory Coast and worked in Paris before moving to the United States.
Continue Reading "The Silent Treatment: Isaach de Bankole on 'Limits of Control'" »
ALLISON FEIGEN got a few startled stares on the Metro a few weeks ago when she had an unexpected run-in with a familiar face.
"Someone had recognized me from an event," explained the 23-year-old. "It was a little funny to say, 'Oh, I met you at FART.' That was kind of awkward."
FART stands for Faux Athletic Recreational Tournaments -- gatherings in which adults play games most of us remember from the playground: Connect Four, shuffleboard and even four square.
From that blithe spirit came the group's cheeky name. "The thought was 'FART' or 'FART in D.C.' is something you can remember," said group president Dave Band, 29.
Since founding FART in September, Band and his board of directors — four close friends ranging in age from 26-29 — have been steadily planning monthly activities. They're starting their spring season April 18 with a citywide game of hide and seek ($15 donation, Fartindc.org for details).
According to Band, the inspiration for FART grew out of D.C.'s kickball leagues, whose participants often unwind after games by packing local watering holes like Adams Mill Bar & Grill or Kelly's Irish Times.
TAKE A QUICK GLANCE around the room and you might miss her. Yet, a second survey of the minimalist white tables at Georgetown's Leopold's Kafe yields unforeseen results.
There, seated among the murmuring European businessmen and the bespectacled grad student skimming his book, is Sari Calvert. While the 57-year-old's feathery scarf, bursting with bright flecks of orange, pink and turquoise, may first capture one's attention, it's the cards she spreads across the table that keeps it. Well, that and what she's telling the young woman sitting across from her: "I see a ring going on and off your finger. ... You being married by age 29 or 30. ... The man will have blond hair with hazel eyes. ... You may have twins."
Gulp. It's good to know you can order a glass of Pinot.
For the last two years, the Cady's Alley spot (3318 M St. NW; 202- 965-6005) has served as a chic- yet-cozy backdrop for the intuitive consultant's in-person spiritual readings on Tuesdays from 2 to 8 p.m. and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. ($65 for 30 minutes, $130 for 60). And, no, people don't stare. "They're so busy in their own worlds, they don't pay attention. Or it could be I'm so used to being a freak, I don't notice people paying attention," she laughs.
Continue Reading "A Woman's Intuition: Sari Calvert at Leopold's" »
FEBRUARY IS HERE, and you know what that means: A seemingly limitless deluge of "Every kiss begins with Kay" commercials (kiss off, Kay Jewelers!) and aisles overwhelmed with chocolates at your neighborhood CVS (Woe is the Whitman's Sampler weary!).
Every year, it seems that Valentine's Day overshadows a more attention-deserving holiday.
It's time Punxsutawney Phil got his due.
Whether the little bugger saw his shadow or not (and he did) should have no effect on how you spend this Groundhog Day. You can either bask in the glory of a fast-approaching spring, or dwell in the doldrums that you'll be sloughing through more blustery winter days. Either way, there's only one libation you should be gulping this Feb. 2. Here's a hint: What's a synonym for groundhog? Why, "woodchuck" of course! It's a good thing D.C. area bars are serving up the Vermont-brewed Woodchuck cider for your enjoyment.
ON TAP
The Hawk 'n' Dove (329 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, 202-453-3300) pours the cider's signature Amber ($6), as do Bar Louie ($3, 701 7th St. NW, 202-638-2460) and Bailey's Irish Pub ($4, 4233 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, 703-465-1300).
For those looking for a little more ambiance, pop by the Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW, 202-667-4490) for its Red Room's Couch Night. Not only will DJ Roulette start spinning at 8 p.m. at this free soiree, but you can also order the 'chuck's 802 Dark & Dry for $5.50 a pint.
Continue Reading "Celebrate Groundhog Day: Drink Woodchuck in D.C." »
LET'S SET THE SCENE in earnest:
It's a Sunday afternoon, and the National Gallery of Art is crammed with onlookers taking in the everyman repertoire of Robert Frank's "The Americans."
It's to be expected, of course, since the iconic exhibit opened just two weeks ago, and it's five days since one of the nation's most historic inaugurations happened a handful of blocks away, where nearly 2 million ambassadors of change trod the Mall's grass into oblivion.
But, still, this NGA crowd is annoying.
In a doorway, one security guard leans into another and asks, "It's that Jim Carrey movie, what was it called?"
"I"m not sure. Ugh, is the day over yet?"
Continue Reading "The Greatest Love of All: The Real 'Americans'" »
FELLOW AMERICANS, LOOK to the future. It's 4 p.m. on Jan. 20. You've chanted "Yes, we can!" so often in the last few hours that you sound raspier than Joan Rivers. The president-elect has become President Obama, and you've tearfully embraced so many strangers sharing the moment on the Mall that your arms are sore. Excitement and glee fill the air. Your options: Join the miserable hordes mumbling about Metro delays, or keep the positive vibe alive by following our walkable, hour-by-hour, celebratory Obama tour. Tough call.
1. Firehook Bakery (4-4:30 p.m.)
This small Columbia Square stop-in should be nominated as commander in sweet. Its "Presidential Sweet Cookie" ($1.55) might look like a humble oatmeal cookie, but with its mishmash of ingredients such as chocolate chips, coconut, sun-dried cherries, oats and pecan pieces, it's a tasteful sum of American traditions — like the new prez himself!
» 555 13th St. NW, 202-393-0952
2. Political Americana (4:30-5:30 p.m.)
Don't devour that cookie too fast — the sustenance will come in handy as you wait to enter this 4,200-square-foot memorabilia store. "We'll have two guys with walkie-talkies," says owner Jim Warlick. "When two people leave, another two can come in." Obama bobbleheads ($20-$30) are flying off the shelves, and Warlick expects to sell, oh, a half-million Obama buttons by Inauguration Day. A presidential perk? The store will stay open until 2 a.m. Wednesday.
» 701 15th St. NW, 202-737-9500, Officialsouvenirs.com
3. Ceiba Restaurant (5:30-6:30 p.m.)
Parched from fighting for that last bottle of Obama hot sauce? Reward yourself with a sip (or five) of "The Dream" or "The Spirit," two speciality cocktails ($9 each) being served up at this
» 1341 G St. NW, 202-393-3983
Continue Reading "Barack Around the Clock: Take a Celebratory Tour" »
THE NOTION OF a ball appeals to the romantic in each of us. So, when inauguration time rolls around every four years, flocks of starry-eyed newcomers scurry to get tickets to one of the stodgy fetes thrown by the Presidential Inaugural Committee or one of the state societies. But not so fast — these affairs aren't as glamorous as you might think. This town doesn't do "Cinderella"-style balls.
Even though tickets can cost thousands of dollars, they still sell out fast. And while you might catch a glimpse of the new president or a supportive celebrity, you're just as likely to get boxed into a corner with your drink and a geeky staffer who claims he doesn't dance. The food is often terrible and scarce, and even the swanky balls aren't guaranteed to have open bars.
But this is a new era (if you haven't heard), and the city is out to prove that it knows how to party. There are a bunch of inaugural bashes that you can get into — and you won't have to buy a ball gown or drop a small fortune. These four parties celebrate the D.C. people live in, not the Washington they work in.
Punk Politics
There will be two huge advantages to stopping by the Black Cat on Tuesday night. First, it's right near Ben's Chili Bowl, so you can get a half-smoke after the party (expect massive lines, though. Bars open until 4 a.m. + the glamour of Obama's visit there last weekend = probable several-hour waits for your chili fries). Second, it's holding "Demand in D.C.," a celebratory concert featuring aptly named bands United Nations and Anti-Flag. It might not seem very punk rock to be celebrating government, but this is a time of hope and change, people — and that means it's time to party.
» Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW; 7:30 p.m., $10; 202-667-4490. (U St.-Cardozo)
Continue Reading "Dance Party Politics: Realistic Inaugural Balls" »
THIS WEEK: True story: Last weekend, we found ourselves in trapped indoors, walking in the midst of hundreds of shopping zombies. Checkout lines at Sephora were jammed with dozens of customers tightly clutching their Guerlain and Laura Mercier. Heck, we even saw shoppers overwhelming the food court with their demand for Five Guys burgers. (Shudder.)
Rather than returning to this dire scenario at Tysons Corner again, we'll opt for the 4th Annual Downtown Holiday Market. Clutching a cup of hot cocoa will make the brisk air bearable for shoppers perusing a variety of wares from local vendors. Whether it's Japanese ceramics, handmade jewelry or metal sculpture, there's plenty of items that will help you to whittle down your shopping list without getting a stress headache.
» Downtown Holiday Market, F and Seventh Streets, NW; noon-8p.m. through Dec. 23, free; 202-543-3370 (Gallery Place-Chinatown)
Photo by James O. Forrest/The Washington Post
Addison Road