Lacy (winner, Most Affectionate)
@ Dupont Circle
Q:If your dog was a celebrity, who would it be?
A:"Charlize Theron. She's glamorous."
EVERYONE'S RECEIVED AN an e-mail making an emotional plea for help, money or both. Usually, it's a get-rich-quick scheme from, say, a fictional Nigerian government official, but when the following plea started circulating online on Jan. 20, it would have been easy to assume it was no different from the rest of the spam that clutters your inbox.
"Sorry again for the mass e-mail. ... As many of you know, we are moving in just two weeks.
Unfortunately, I have still not been able to find a good home for Cookie and Coco. We're not able to take our beloved doggies with us and I've been desperately trying to find a home for both of them 'together.' They were raised together and pine without each other."
Attached to a string of forwards was a picture of a chocolate Labrador retriever, Coco, and a yellow Lab, Cookie, looking up with that puzzled, ear-raised expression: "Who me?"
"Yes, you," the citizens of America collectively replied. Faster than you can fire off an e-mail from your iPhone, people nationwide were all but building Coco and Cookie doghouses in their backyards. ("Package deal! Please pass along to all family, friends, co-workers." — Atlanta, Feb. 12.)
But pretty soon the tide out there in the blogosphere turned from chirpy do-gooder optimism to irritated skepticism. ("I have e-mailed this person a couple of times & NO response ... so I [am] starting to believe this is a total scam!" — Hackettstown, N.J., Feb. 12.)
Pages upon pages of Google search results yielded more confusion and second-guessing. It started to look like Coco and Cookie don't even exist.
But they do.
Just ask Sas Behzadi of Woodland Hills, Calif.
Continue Reading "Paws & Effect: Finding Cookie and Coco a Home" »
GATHER 'ROUND, KIDS, for a history lesson. Way back when Pat Paulson was running for president — don't ask — two clean-cut guys hoisted a guitar and stand-up bass onto comedy stages and proceded to knock the stuffing out of the establishment. The Smothers Brothers, Tom and Dick, used such sly, sardonic humor that audiences almost didn't believe what they were hearing, considering the Haight-Ashbury fratboy package these poison pills came in.
Fifty years into puncturing the pompous' balloons and bickering over familial minutae, SmoBro are still at it, bringing their sunny brand of satire to the Kennedy Center this weekend.
» Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW; Thu, 7 p.m., Fri. & Sat., 8 p.m., $20-$85; 800-444-1324. (Foggy-Bottom-GWU)
Photo courtesy The Smothers Brothers
AH, THE HOLIDAYS. Ah, the singing that comes with it. And while an 80-year-old grandma belting out Irish sing-a-longs after drinking a Manhattan (or two) is one thing, the Encore Chorale Singers' performance at the Kennedy Center's Millennium stage at 6 p.m. is another.
For starters, take the numbers: There are 200 singers aged 55 and up. And there's the variety of the songs selected, ranging from "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" to "Happy Hanukkah." Like last week's TubaChristmas, this free performance will be a powerhouse of holiday cheer. And besides -- older folks are just too cute!
» Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW; Tue. Dec. 16., 6 p.m., free; 202-467-4600. (Foggy Bottom-GWU)
Photo courtesy Kennedy Center
A GOOD DATE: A fantastic dinner followed by dancing. An even better date: A fantastic dinner with simultaneous dancing. Don't worry, we're not suggesting scarfing down burgers while trying to get your swerve on at The Guards. Talk about indigestion!
Instead, opt for an intimate meal at Las Tapas in Alexandria. While dining on small plates of spanakopeta and fried calamari, you and your evening eye candy can watch professional dancers stomp it out flamenco-style on a wooden stage in the room's center.
The spectacular strumming of a live classical guitar provides an intimate atmosphere. And hey -- if you run out of interesting convo topics, you can always just pretend you're really into watching flamenco ... as you chug your sixth sangria.
» Las Tapas, 710 King St., Alexandria; 7:45 and 9 p.m. Tue. and Thu., 8 p.m. Wed., free, 703-836-4000.
Photo courtesy Michael Perez from Dcflamenco.com
TO GREEN, OR NOT TOO GREEN? In these days of global warming, that really isn't a question. And although recent years have seen many less-than-sincere additions to the eco-bandwagon, there are still some Earth-lovin' acts that'll make even the most jaded tree hugger smile.
Take tonight's 7 p.m. "Green Growing and Original" performance for instance. The free Young Playwrights' Theater event, part of their New Writers Now! series, features original plays written by eight D.C.-area teens -- performed by local adult actors -- that focus on how we can do Mama Earth some good. Papa Gore would be proud.
» GALA Hispanic Theatre; 3333 14th St., NW; Mon., Dec. 15, 7 p.m., free; 202-387-9173. (Columbia Heights)
Photo courtesy Young Playwrights' Theater
YOU KNOW THE SAYING: "Save the cheerleader, get buzzed." OK, so that's not quite as catchy as the tagline of NBC's "Heroes" ("Save the cheerleader, save the world" for those of you who somehow missed it), but you've got to admit it's profoundly more appealing.
So, in honor of the show's midseason finale on Dec. 15, get in the mindset of your favorite flame-throwing or flying character and take a night out on the town. If anything the show's disjointed plot lines as of late might make more sense after a brew or two.
Hiro Nakamura's shouty enthusiasm and comic fanboy zeal can be a bit much sometimes, no? In order to get this persona-style to chill, we suggest suggest sipping a pint at Galaxy Hut's cozy atmosphere. It's $1 off drafts and $3 off pitchers until 8 p.m. Bonus: Comics litter the walls and there's a working Pac Man table.
Continue Reading "Save the Cheerleader, Get Buzzed: 'Heroes' Happy Hours" »
IF THE PHOTOGRAPHY WORLD has such a thing as a rock star, Annie Leibovitz would be it. Whether she's shooting Yoko Ono or Barack Obama, her solid work signifies one thing: She's kind of a big deal. Just ask anyone who had to throw some elbows viewing space at her "Photographer's Life" Corcoran exhibit last fall.
Miss her sold-out talk at the Corcoran last night? You have one more opportunity to catch the shutterbug when she discusses her book, "Annie Leibovitz at Work," at Sixth and I at 7 p.m.
Can't get tickets? Then read our interview with Liebovitz, in which she discusses her evolution as an artist and the hard work behind those illustrious shots.
» Sixth and I Historic Synagogue, 600 I St. NW; Tue., Dec. 9, 7 p.m., $16 (sold out); 202-397-7328. (Gallery Place)
Photo by Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images
PICTURE IT: It's the late '90s and a teenage reporter gal in Richmond, Va., is really getting into covering the local music scene for her local paper. Bands like Fighting Gravity, Carbon Leaf and Virginia Coalition are her heroes. Time goes by, she goes to college, grows up, covers celebrities in New York City and eventually moves to D.C. where she writes for some free daily paper.
Then, she learns a rock band from those those teen-boppery days of yore, Emmet Swimming, is playing a show tonight at Iota. The reminiscent side of her considers going. Upon learning it's a show that benefits those suffering from Crohn's disease and colitis, and that the George Mason University alums will likely play their old track, "Arlington," in, well, Arlington, it's simply too good to resist.
» Iota, 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; Tue., Dec. 9, 8:30 p.m., $10 minimum donation; 703-522-8340. (Clarendon)
Photo courtesy of Emmet Swimming
YOU'VE GOT YOUR VANS and your skin-tight jeans, and you love drinking your PBR, but as you run your fingers through your matted hair (a result from crashing on a pal's cigarette burn-speckled couch) it occurs to you: You're not as punk as you thought. Holy Henry Rollins, what ever shall you do?
Take a crash course, of course. Head to the Black Cat at 8:30 p.m. for A Night With the Ramones — a free movie-palooza of Ramones flicks including "Hey is Dee Dee Home?" "End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones" and "Rock 'n' Roll High School." And if you don't want to be sedated after all of that rawkous riffage (and the headache that is bound to come with it), something is clearly wrong with you.
» Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW; Mon., Dec. 8, 8:30 p.m., free; 202-667-4490. (U St.-Cardozo)
Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
REMEMBER THAT EAGER ANTICIPATION you'd get when you'd see that ginormous present waiting oh-so-innocently under the tree? What could it be: A Teddy Ruxpin? An Easy Bake Oven?
Well, the 35th Annual Merry TubaChristmas at the Kennedy Center is pretty much that: Yet instead of a disappointingly huge box of socks (very funny, Dad!) this big ole Christmas extravaganza is exactly what it's cracked up to be: Dozens of tuba-wielding dudes and dudettes playing traditional songs on their cumbersome brass instruments. Now that's a giant measure of holiday cheer anyone can deal with.
» Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW; Mon. Dec. 8., 6 p.m., free; 202-467-4600. (Foggy Bottom-GWU)
Photo courtesy Kennedy Center
Addison Road