WILL! What are you doing here?!

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Erica and I are pleased to announce that our first child was born on Saturday night. After nine months of referring to it as "Blueberry" , we now have a real name for him -- William Richard Yurasko. We are calling him Will. We didn't know it was a boy until yesterday when he was born.

The whole process began early Saturday morning and was over around 7:30 p.m., right on the due date. Baby and mom are both doing well and hope to coming home tomorrow.

Will's arrival has been quite exciting and I should have photos for family and friends up in my flickrstream tomorrow morning. We love him so much!

UPDATE: Photos are up for Family & Friends!

[flickr : Will! What are you doing here?!/slideshow]

Labels: Best of WWN, Family and Friends

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posted by WFY @ 10:05 PM | |

Congratulations. Having seen Will, I can attest that he is a fine looking young man. He has bluish gray eyes and looks like William except for his mom's ears and nose (which is much cuter.) Sarah and I are so happy for you and very glad to be an aunt and uncle respectively. We look forward to returning the favor soon.

# posted by  your brother : Sunday, June 01, 2008 10:43:00 PM  

Ryan Zimmerman is Mr. Walkoff

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ryan Zimmerman sent a telegram to the baseball world this evening: "I am Mr. Walkoff." The fourth-year third baseman did with a ninth inning solo home run into the left field seats. His homer won the first game at Nationals Park for the home team. This may be even better than his Father's Day 2006 home run to beat the Yankees or July 4, 2006 homer to beat Florida.

I think they cheated us out of hearing "Bustin' Loose" though.

I will have more to say tomorrow, though possibly not until lunch. I'm tired and hoarse from yelling "Mr. Walkoff."

UPDATE 6:27 p.a. Monday morning Video of the homer, courtesy of Awful Announcing.

Labels: Best of WWN, Datelines, I Was There, Mr. Walkoff, Nats/MLB 2008

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posted by WFY @ 11:58 PM | |

Q&A: Jacqueline Dupree

Five years ago, Capitol Hill resident Jacqueline Dupree began chronicling the changes in Near Southeast on her Web site, jdland.com. In September 2004, the future of Near SE was dramatically changed when it was announced that the District of Columbia would fund a new ballpark for what would become the Washington Nationals. Since that time, "Near Southeast DC Redevelopment" has been the best source for ballpark construction news.

WFY: Opening Night is less than a week away. Will the ballpark be ready?

JD: There's no doubt that baseball will be played and Cracker Jack, hot dogs, and beer will be consumed on Opening Night. Every scintilla of the park won't be finished, but the showiest parts of the stadium--the field, the seating, and the exterior--appear to be ready to go. I'm sure Stan Kasten would want me to add, "there will be hiccups, but the team says it will be working hard to address them."

WFY: What about Metro?

JD: If you're asking whether the west entrance of the Navy Yard Metro station will be ready, the Magic 8 ball answer is that "signs point to yes." Whether the Metro system and the Green line are prepared to handle the coming onslaught, I'll be happy to answer that question on Monday morning.

WFY: Are you surprised that Nationals Park will open on time?

JD: Back when the lease agreement was approved in 2006, I thought there was no way it would open on time. But for the past year or so, what I've seen and heard gave me a fair amount of confidence that it would be ready.

WFY: In your view, has the media overreacted to the parking situation?

JD: Traffic stories = ratings. On the one hand, you've got people talking about the coming traffic catastrophe because so many people will be driving, and on the other other people talking about the coming Metro catastrophe because so many people will be taking the subway.

I have no doubt that the first month will see some horror stories on the parking, traffic, and transit fronts, and there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Just like at FedEx field when it opened, and at RFK when baseball came back in 2005. And then people will start figuring out their special ways of getting to the ballpark, like parking at a Metro station, or parking downtown and catching a cab, or walking, or biking. (And, coming in 2009, water taxis!) I think it might actually end up being kind of cool that there are so many different ways to get there, rather than everyone piling in their cars and driving to huge parking lots.

WFY: What features of Nationals Park do you think will be most popular with fans?

JD: I can't speak to the baseball-related aspects of it (whether it's a hitters park, etc. etc.). But I'll tell you what bowled me over the most the first time I experienced them--the views from the tops of the ramp at South Capitol on the northwest side of the ballpark and the one at Potomac Avenue on the southeast. If you want your views of the Capitol, or the Washington Monument, or the Cathedral, or National Airport, or Poplar Point, or the Navy Yard, or the Anacostia River, or Southwest, you've got 'em. There's been so much yakking about how every seat in the ballpark doesn't have a pristine view of the Capitol Dome that people I think don't realize how many fabulous views there are from the ballpark's upper decks. And even the views directly to the north of the ballpark, as the buildings get finished, will have a "city lights" view that might even get a few people to stop bitching about the garages.

In a more mundane vein, I think the wide variety of food options will be a big hit. As will be the Strike Zone for kids. And the cupholders!

WFY: On the other hand, what will disappoint fans the most?

JD: That's hard for me to say, I think different people will have different expectations. The garages will be a sore point, I'm sure, though the team is trying hard to gussy them up. And yet, as people are complaining about them, I hope they'll stop to think what it might have been like to have two 12-story condo buildings right on the edge of the outfield like almost got approved, obscuring *all* views from the seats. Sure, you'd probably get to see people sitting on their sofas watching TV, but.....

WFY: Is Near SE essentially a construction zone with a new ballpark in the middle of it?

JD: Indeed. But I think there's something to be said for people coming to the neighborhood for the first time and seeing that there's a ton of work underway versus having a gleaming new ballpark with nothing else happening. It doesn't take as much of a leap of faith to imagine that within the next year or two, things will be different. But yes, you might get dusty! A sidewalk might be closed! Prepare accordingly!

WFY: Will any of the upcoming neighborhood amenities (bars and restaurants, etc.) open during the 2008 season?

JD: Unless some bar or restaurant is going to go in the first floor of 20 M Street (the office building at Half and M completed last year), I doubt it. I suppose it could be possible that something could go in the ground floor of 100 M, the office building at First and M that's supposed to be completed in late summer, but it probably wouldn't be open before the season ends. But there's been no announcements that I've heard.

WFY: How cooperative have the Nationals been during the construction? What about developers? The District government?

JD: I've received pretty much all the cooperation I've asked for from all three of those groups, as well as from residents and other groups--though I try not to ask for very much so as not to be thought of as a pain in the ass. Certainly they see JDLand as a (cheap!) way to get their messages out. I think the only time I really stomped my feet and asked for something above-and-beyond was last fall, when the ballpark security perimeter took away access to First Street and Potomac Avenue and I asked to be allowed to continue to update my exterior photos every so often. But I pouted for about six weeks first.

I'm not a big fan of the "Look at all the big-shot contacts I have and all the names I can drop!" brand of blogging, so maybe my sticking to information aggregation along with a small amount of this-is-what-I've-seen-with-my-own-eyes has kept me in good stead. Plus, I think some of the folks in charge actually like looking at the before-and-after pictures and getting updates on other projects, too.

WFY: What has been most enjoyable and frustrating about chronicling the ballpark progress?

JD: I have to admit that the praise the site gets, and the reactions I get when I meet people who are familiar with the site, have been experiences I never would have expected. The story of this neighborhood seems to have captured a lot of interest, and I get to enjoy being the conduit. To be standing on a street corner and have people you've never met roll down their windows to say hi and complement what you do is the sort of experience everyone should be lucky enough to have in their life. Even when I get tired and cranky (which is often), I have a tremendous amount of pride and satisfaction with what this has all grown to.

On the flip side, there's little things that bug me--it's frustrating for me to watch a lot of the media reports in these last few weeks, with lots of errors or lots of skimming the surface of stuff that I've been covering so deeply for these past few years. And things like when columnists write "OMG! The Metro station isn't open!!!!" three weeks before Opening Day, as if that guarantees it won't be open in time. A lot of hyperbole and not a strong command of the facts. And the lack of patience amazes me--some people have grown to adulthood thinking that if something brand new has something wrong with it, that's just the way it's always going to be.

Then there's the people wanting to know happened to the baseball on top of the outfield restaurant. I can stop getting asked that question any time now.

WFY: Will the ballpark's completion be sort of like a tragedy of dreams come true for you?

JD: It's like how you discover some really cool underground band, and you spend years telling people about them, and then suddenly they're playing stadium shows and you get all whiny about how you knew about them first.

But, to be serious, without planning on it I stumbled into a pretty amazing project, and it's been a blast. To know there's a lot of people looking at my work and appreciating it, especially since it just kind of grew without any sort of grand plan, has been immensely satisfying. JDLand isn't going anywhere anytime soon, of course, but there will never be the interest in the rest of the neighborhood that there's been in the ballpark, so the wackiest part of the ride is about over.

WFY: What question do you get asked about the most?

JD: Beyond "are you the one who does that web site?" that I get when people see me taking pictures? Probably just asking me how I manage to keep the site running. These days, the answer is "barely." But it'll be back to normal soon.

WFY: What question do you wish people would ask?

JD: "How do you want me to cite JDLand.com in this news story I'm putting together for my major media corporation, since I used your site extensively to research the piece and I of course want to give you full credit for that?"

This is the one thing that makes me cranky above all else. In the blogosphere (for the most part), etiquette demands that if you get something from someone else, you hat tip. But I know for a fact that reporters in this town (and elsewhere) make heavy use of my site (and sometimes even tell me so in person), but you never know it from their work. If I started plagiarizing from news stories, you can be damn sure that I'd be hearing about it. But since I'm "just a blogger", they seem to feel that my site is free for the taking without any sort of acknowledgment. Recently one of my photos was published without credit or permission on the front page of an unnamed neighborhood newspaper, because the editor thought "it was in the public domain." I consider myself a journalist as much as any other journalist in this town, and I work as hard (probably harder) for my content as they work for theirs, but they don't always treat my work with the same level of respect they expect for their own. Because I'm "just a blogger."

WFY: Last year (correct me if I am wrong) you started writing a weekly Ballpark & Beyond column about the ballpark for The Post. Was that your idea or their idea? Will it continue after the ballpark is opened?

JD: The Post approached me in May 2007 with the idea of adapting my blog in the District Extra--since I work in the Newsroom Information Technology department, they probably felt more comfortable with "going bloggy" via my site than if I had been an outsider. I'm expecting the column to continue for a bit longer, though I think it will probably run less often. Which I'm fine with, because in some ways the column is a far more stressful part of my life than I expected it to be.

WFY: For the "techies" out there, what do you use for content management of the Near SE Redevelopment? What kind of camera and imaging software do you use?

JD: The easy answer first--the official JDLand camera since January 2006 has been a Canon Digital Rebel XT. I use Paint Shop Pro to handle the photos, though I don't do much with them other than resizing and some cropping and straightening when the camera gets too heavy and I end up holding it crooked.

As for the CMS, it's a complete home brew, all in Cold Fusion, and in some ways I'm as proud of the site's technology as I am of the content. The blog entries are in a database that I wrote both the front end and the RSS generator for. There's another table with information on each photo, which allows for the random photo display at the top of the home page and the Photo Archive application. The project pages are hybrid static and dynamic pages, with most of the "afters" generated by calls to the database. That way, I can upload photos to the site and auto-add records to the database, and the project pages immediately will show the new shots. The pages need some hands-on TLC every so often, but I don't have to open them and edit them everytime I upload a photo.

The complete batch of photos on my hard drive (of which there are *thousands* beyond what you see on the site) are also handled in a home-brew app. When I come home from taking photos, I pull up a page and start categorizing every shot, which I've sped up a lot lately thanks a big pile of javascript. I mark which intersection the photo shows, where I was standing, and what direction the photo was taken, and the code parses it into the database along with the timestamp from each photo's EXIF info. Then I can browse the photos by filling out a search form--i.e., show me all 2006 photos of the southwest corner First and N Street taken from the northeast corner. I then have some other scripts and shortcuts I've come up with to choose which photos I want to upload to the site, and then I run a batch process in Paint Shop Pro to resize them and save copies that I then FTP up to the site. Then I update the site database with the new images.

I don't think it's hyperbole to say that there's no way a site like this could be done by hand. It still pretty much takes me 4-6 hours to go take a big batch of photos, categorize and add them to the main database, choose which ones I want to post, and then upload them and update the site database. Though some of that, of course, is because there's so many dang projects to be taking pictures of right now. In time this will return to something less taxing.

WFY: What has been the most popular subject on Near SE Redevelopment based on site traffic?

JD: The easy answer, of course, is all the ballpark stuff. My traffic has doubled in the past month as the buildup to Opening Night has intensified. And yet, really, any time I post new photos of the neighborhood that people can compare to the "befores" on my site, I see a small spike in traffic. I have no doubt, though, that my statistics will return to more realistic levels after April.

WFY: Have you been able to recoup the cost the site via advertising?

JD: Yes, but please note that I'm not blogging from a beachside cabana on the Riviera. It's not very much at all, especially in comparison to what my hourly rate as a web application developer would be.

WFY: Do you have a ticket to Opening Night? Do you have an extra for me?

JD: Only if you want to split what I paid on StubHub, and then tell my husband he can't go.

WFY: I'm thinking about it. :)

Nationals Park, Jacqueline Dupree, Washington Nationals , Nats, dc

Labels: Best of WWN, Interviews, Nats/MLB 2008, The District

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posted by WFY @ 12:40 PM | |

Yes, great interview. You asked many questions I had about the site and the process. Kudos to Ms. Dupree as well for an ongoing job well done. I've always enjoyed the site.

# posted by  Tim : Tuesday, March 25, 2008 3:47:00 PM  

The real reason Starbucks is closed right now

Starbucks is closed right now (Seattle Times) so employees can "be trained in creating the perfect shot, steaming the milk and all the pieces that come together in a drink." Not just the local Starbucks, all Starbucks. Seems a little odd doesn't it? The truth is more disturbing:

Starbucks To Begin Sinister 'Phase Two' Of Operation - The Onion

Starbucks, closed, coffee

Labels: Best of WWN, Food and Drink, Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot

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posted by WFY @ 5:51 PM | |

Restaurant Review: Parker's barbecue

WILSON, N.C. -- I took the advice of commenter Sean and John T. (who emailed me) and visited Parker's Barbecue last Friday. I enjoy Carolina-style barbecued pork and was eager to try some from an authentic Carolina restaurant.

Parker's is on the side of US 301 in an unassuming building. Upon entering the restaurant, diners may seat themselves. A server offers menus (smaller than a sheet of paper) with barbecue and fried chicken as the highlights. I ordered the barbecue plate with seasoned boiled potatoes and was quite pleased. The pork was moist and tender shoulder meat with a little bit of the browned meat from the outside mixed in. I enjoyed with by itself and with a little of the pepper sauce (similar to Tabasco, but not as strong) from the table. Since we were in the eastern part of the state, the pork doesn't have a tomato-based sauce like western North Carolina barbecue. It was also nice and lean with no chunks of fat mixed in, a welcome sign. The orange-colored, spicced boiled potatoes were also quite good, I'm going to have to start making them on occasion once I get a recipe. Erica enjoyed her barbecue sandwich and fries as well. We also ordered a hush puppies and corn stick plate; the hushpuppies were fine, but the oil overpowered the tasted of the fried corn sticks.

Overall, I was quite pleased with Parker's and would not hesitate to make the slight detour from I-95 again. Also, it is worth noting that Parker's does not accept credit cards, but does accept checks from Virginia. Our total came to less than $12, but we rounded up to $15 with tip.

Directions: From I-95, take exit 119B to US 117 SOUTH/US 264 EAST (and nominally, I-795 SOUTH). Stay on US 264 past US 117/I-795 split and take exit 43B, US 301 NORTH/Wilson. Parker's is on the left a couple of miles up US 301.



Photo taken from roadfood.com without permission because I forgot to get one of the building. Visit their review of Parker's too.

Labels: Best of WWN, Food and Drink, Travel

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posted by WFY @ 12:32 PM | |

How I might design this week's Sports Illustrated cover

DC Sports Chick notes that amazon.com has a special book on sale. Make sure to pay attention to the tags at the bottom.

Just in case amazon removes the page, I have uploaded a screengrab for posterity.

POINT OF CLARIFICATION: I believe the Giants won the game more than the Patriots lost it, but I couldn't resist putting that cover together last night.

Tom Brady, Sports Illustrated, Patriots, Super Bowl

Labels: Best of WWN, Redskins/NFL

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posted by WFY @ 11:20 PM | |

Did you see this?

# posted by  DCSportsChick : Monday, February 04, 2008 8:21:00 AM  

Farewell, San Francisco

Nearly three weeks after the fact, over 600 photographs and a couple dozen blog posts later, I'm going to "say goodbye" to the city by the bay. We had a great trip out there and thank David for hosting us.

Be sure to check out Erica's [flickr : set from San Francisco/slideshow]

My entire San Francisco flickr collection

Labels: Best of WWN, Photography, San Francisco, Travel

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posted by WFY @ 12:05 PM | |

Absinthe now legal nationwide

Hearts Grow Fonder for Absinthe - ABC News

Decadence and debauchery. Mayhem and murder. Absinthe, the legendary drink and muse of the Moulin Rouge set, is now legal in the United States and making a comeback for the holidays.

Yesterday, hundreds were lined up in Alameda to buy some (MSNBC). I wonder if they knew that all they had to before was cross the bay to get some. Ha -- I was drinking it before it was cool!

Absinthe, liquor

Labels: Best of WWN, Food and Drink

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posted by WFY @ 8:15 AM | |

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America's original Irish coffee

SAN FRANCISCO-- Our host David mentioned that The Buena Vista, a pub near Fisherman's Wharf, claimed to the first place in America to serve Irish coffee. Since we had spent several hours in that area buying chocolate and taken photos of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, America's first Irish coffee bar sounded like a great way to warm up. I'm not a big coffee drinker - Irish or otherwise -, but this experience may have converted me.

We wound up having dinner at The Buena Vista and were pleased with the food, the heater next to the table and especially our waitress who was very attentive and efficient. I had the fish and chips which were quite good, while Erica had Dungeness crab cakes. She noted that they were different than Maryland style in that they had red peppers and green vegetables mixed in. While she prefers the Maryland variety, she still enjoyed her meal. The pub is a popular happy hour hangout too, so it wasn't just tourists eating and drinking there.

The Buena Vista is the second bar that we have been to this year with a claim as the "first to serve" a specific cocktail. In June, we had mint juleps at the Round Robin bar in the Willard, downtown Washington D.C.

TheBuenaVista, Irish coffee, SF, San Francisco, California

Labels: Best of WWN, Food and Drink, History, San Francisco, Travel

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posted by WFY @ 12:25 PM | |

Absinthe Brasserie & Bar

SAN FRANCISCO -- For several years now, I have been intrigued by the liquor absinthe. The "green fairy" got a bad rap about a century ago that it is now only overcoming. Absinthe has been only been legal in a few states including New Jersey, New York and California in recent years, though dl004d recently said "the four government-approved absinthe blends will be legal in all states starting Dec. 21." That's great, but I wasn't about to wait another few days that I did not have to -- I read in the article, "Absinthe flows again, more stylish than ever," in USA Today that San Francisco's own Absinthe Brasserie & Bar would be selling the real thing before Dec. 21.

David and I sampled Lucid after our meal. We both elected to have with a a sugar cube and cold water, rather than any elaborate cocktail. We carefully poured the water over the cube before sampling it. I found the taste surprising, it was much subtler than I expected. The hints of licorice were just that; I was pleased. It was tasty and kind of fun, but at $13 a pop, I would not be terribly inclined to do it too often. Also, in case you were wondering, I didn't see music or hear colors.

For dinner, I ordered Grilled Estancia NY Strip steak, fries, mustard glaze, pistou butter. I wasn't crazy about the pistou butter, but the steak was excellent. Erica enjoyed Braised beef cheeks, smashed potatoes, baby turnips, baby carrots, English peas. Dave said the pork confit, braised red cabbage, Serrano ham, crispy mustard spätzle hit the spot. I recommend dining there, even if you are not interested in absinthe.

[flickr : my photos tagged with absinthe/slideshow]

Absinthe Brasserie & Bar, SF, SanFrancisco, California

Labels: Best of WWN, Food and Drink, Photography, San Francisco, Travel

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posted by WFY @ 12:51 PM | |

In-N-Out Luther Burger?

DALY CITY, Calif. -- Prior to this past weekend, neither Erica nor David were familiar with the "Luther Burger" (snopes), the gastronomical creation of a bacon cheeseburger with two Krispy Kreme donuts for a roll. The sandwich is said to have been created and enjoyed faithfully by the late Luther Vandross. Draw your own correlations between those sandwiches and Vandross's untimely passing. Upon seeing the sign pictured above, both Erica and David exclaimed "Luther burger!", as I had shared this information with them prior to our arrival at In-N-Out

We didn't go for broke stroke and make our own Luther burgers when we stopped at the Daly City In-N-Out Burger on the way to SFO Sunday night. However, Erica and I did enjoy our first trip to California's favorite fast food joint, as did David, who was already acquainted with In-N-Out.

I ordered a Double Double and fries. Due to my own preferences, I scraped off most of the sauce and skipped the tomato and lettuce, but in retrospect I should left the sauce on, it was tasty. The fries, which are fresh cut, were pretty good, though not on par with McDonald's. The meat was superior though and even a little pink inside. We also found the employees to be very polite and efficient. In-N-Out was the polar opposite of White Castle (which we visited this past October). In fact, In-N-Out is probably the best fast food joint that I have visited.



In-N-Out Burger, Krispy Kreme, Luther burger, fast food, Daly City, California

Labels: Best of WWN, Food and Drink, San Francisco, Travel

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posted by WFY @ 2:52 PM | |

I did out of habit and kind of regretted it.

# posted by  WFY : Monday, December 17, 2007 4:53:00 PM  

Dante Hicks calls out of our friend Tom (NSFW!)

THIS VIDEO IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

Long story short -- every year, my friends Tom and Wiley head to Jersey for Kevin Smith's Vulgarthon. After day two of the 2006 Vulgarthon, Tom went back to the room to sleep instead of going to the after party. When Wiley met Brian O'Halloran, best known as Dante from Clerks, he mentioned what Tom was doing. O'Halloran was not amused and Wiley got it on video. After over 1½ years, they finally got the video up. I'm looking forward to watching this when I get home.

Tom promises a rebuttal.

Vulgarthon, Brian O'Halloran, KevinSmith, ViewAskew, NJ

Labels: Beano Cook, Beano Watch, Best of WWN, Family and Friends, Movies, New Jersey, Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot

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posted by WFY @ 12:01 PM | |

That was hilarious! Awesome!

Props to Wiley for being able to hold the camera upright while laughing hysterically.

# posted by  TMBC : Friday, November 09, 2007 1:16:00 PM  

Cheesy victory

Not that Penn State football needs anything else to make it interesting, but the occasional friendly wager sure is fun. Recently, for the second year in a row, dl004d and I bet foodstuffs on the outcome of the game. Last year he won a box of grilled stickies, but this year I got my revenge and was rewarded mild cheddar cheese shaped like the state of Wisconsin.

Thank you dl004d and Grand Mariner (his wife, who actually bought the cheese in Wisconsin and brought it back), we enjoyed it during the first half of Penn State's victory over Indiana.

Labels: Best of WWN, Food and Drink, PSU Football 2007, Wagers

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posted by WFY @ 12:32 PM | |

William & Erica go to White Castle

EATONTOWN, N.J. -- When my brother was getting married this past July, the topic of White Castle hamburgers came up once or twice. It seems one of my uncles was noted for having eaten them by the sack back in the day. There was also some discussion about where the term "sliders." I can't forget reading about deep fried sliders either, although I probably wish I could. We never did find out why they are called sliders, but on Saturday we finally ate at a White Castle.

We stopped at the Eatontown location on Route 35, just south of the Monmouth Mall. We actually missed it on the first pass and had to turn around at the Route 36 circle. No big deal. We pulled in hungry, but not expecting too much. My brother, who had also never been to White Castle, had gone earlier in the day at a different location and advised us of being disappointed. We didn't have high expectations anyway, but were so hungry it really didn't matter.

Despite a short line, we waited a few minutes to order. We wound getting the #3 (with cheese), 10 sliders with two orders of french fries and two drinks. As we sat in the booth waiting for our number to be called, someone in hte next booth over was humming "Dancing in the Dark" which was kind of amusing. After about a ten minute wait that seemed needlessly long, we were ready to dig in.



We had to wait a minute or two to start because those sliders were quite hot. The fries were at a more reasonable temperature and I had a few. The verdict on them -- dry and starchy, not real great. As for the burger, after putting on a whole packet of ketchup and removing the pickles (sacrilege?) I took a big bite.



My reaction -- this is okay. The meat was awfully gray and of quality less than most fast food burger joints. The rolls were just right though and the cheese tasty enough. They weren't good or bad, just kind of bland. Had it not been for all that ketchup, I probably wouldn't have gotten through all five. If I hadn't have gone without protein for the most of the day, I certainly wouldn't have eaten all of them.



In the end, my overall take on White Castle and its sliders is "meh." I won't specifically seek White Castle out, but I won't avoid it either. I guess I have to see Harold & Kumar (IMDB) now.

White Castle, sliders, NJ

Labels: Best of WWN, Food and Drink, New Jersey, Travel

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posted by WFY @ 6:13 AM | |

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Q&A: P.J. Maierhofer

Now in her third season as Blue Sapphire, the featured twirler of the Touch of Blue, Pamela Jo Maierhofer continues the proud legacy of twirling at Penn State. Recently, PJ took the time to answer a few questions, sent during three-a-days, for William World News.

WFY: When did you realize that you wanted to be the Blue Sapphire?

PJ: I was in 4th grade and a friend of ours was a Penn State Majorette and so we came to see her at a game… and I remember looking out there and going, "Mom! Mom! Who is THAT??" And I remember her explaining to me that that was the Blue Sapphire. I looked at her and told my Mom that that was going to be me someday (and she laughed) …BUT here I am :)

WFY: Is your routine integrated are your routines with the rest of Touch of Blue?

PJ: The Jettes and I have separate routines obviously, considering there are 12 of them and 1 of me. They synchronize all that they do which is a totally different and impressive skill that was never my forte. I was definitely a much stronger twirler twirling individually… I would have a really hard time doing what they do. From time to time we will twirl together and I really enjoy that.

WFY: How scary is it to twirl burning batons? (nota bene: sadly, the audio is NSFW)

PJ: Fire baton? Ha - It's awesome… it just adds another element to the crazy adrenaline rush I already get. It's not scary, when I was young, my Mom made me try it and as a result I never developed a fear that a first time older athlete would more than likely have. I rather like the challenge it brings.

WFY: What is your favorite part of a football Saturday?

PJ: EVERYTHING! Ha Ha, I think if I had to pick I would say my favorite part of Saturday game day is walking towards the stadium after we perform in BJC at Tail great. As a band we "march" over and sing the Singing Lion…. And as we get closer to the stadium, people up above that are already in the stadium start leaning out over the edges and cheering… and everyone starts coming towards Beaver Stadium…it makes me feel like at Penn State, you don't just go to college and get an education and graduate, you become a Penn Stater and Beaver Stadium is where all the past and present Penn Staters unite….it's kinda like home.

WFY: Is there a rule that Blue Sapphires have to have the middle name "Jo"?

PJ: Very Funny, I actually read your blog on this topic. It is strictly coincidence. My Mom's name is Pam and my Dad's name is Joe…so I was born Pamela Jo…. And the day I left the hospital I became a PJ :)

WFY: Do you know your predecessor, Bobbie Jo Solomon well?

PJ: Bobbie is an amazing girl. I've known her for a long long long long time and she was someone that I will someday owe a great deal of gratitude to because I spent the majority of my twirling career looking up to her. She is an awesome athlete. She twirled on a team with my older sister when I was little and so that's how I met her… and have admired her ever since.

WFY: Why does the Blue Sapphire always wear a white uniform?

PJ: It's just a way for her to stand out a little bit from the rest of the band and auxiliary. This year, my new costume has a little more blue than my last did, but it is still mainly white.

WFY: How do you and the other members of Touch of Blue keep from getting hypothermia during the latter part of the season?

PJ: Hahaha…. The band actually has these awesome cloak kind of coats that we wrap around us until we get ready for halftime and they keep us super warm. Plus, when you love Penn State and twirling as much as we do… you know that you have a job to go do and nothing is going to stop you. We wear lots of layers and when it is show time…we go :)

WFY: Football players often grumble about two-a-days during fall practice. How many times do you practice during the run up to the season?

PJ: We actually just finished our band camp which consisted of three, 3 hour sessions each day for 4 days straight. However, I twirl competitively so I train on average at least 2 hours a day during competition season. Right now, we have practice as a band 2 hours every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and 2½ hours on Tuesday

WFY: The video "Meet the New Blue Sapphire" has been viewed nearly 3,900 times on YouTube. Other than performing, how involved were you in the production of the video?

PJ: Well, Matt Fallabel the videographer for the Blue Band produced that video as part of our end of the year DVD. My transition from 11th grade to college and also my journey to create my own version of Blue Sapphire took some hard work. Matt and I became friends via band practice and he got to know me pretty well. Although a few of the things he targeted in the video were things we talked about, he did all of that on his own… trying to express to people who I was, so needless to say it was pretty effective.

WFY: Does the first song ("Brazil" by Django Reinhardt) in that video get stuck in your head like it does mine?

PJ: Haha I honestly don't watch it that much – that'd be kinda weird.. lol

WFY: Can we look forward to more videos like that in the future?

PJ: Hopefully :)

WFY: Over the years there has been a great deal said about teams playing on artificial turf but I never hear about what the half time performers think. What are your feelings on artificial turf?

PJ: My high school in Altoona had Astro and it was just different. Personally, twirling in Beaver Stadium is like twirling in Heaven and I find it perfect, but a good performer can adjust to any situation.

WFY: Which was a better bowl trip, Miami or Tampa Bay?

PJ: While Miami was really neat, I loved Tampa. We, the Blue Band, were so much more a part of the whole bowl production at the Outback bowl than we were at the Orange…and it just really made for an amazing trip, despite the rain!

WFY: What are the best and worst away games you have been too so far? Do you go to all the road games?

PJ: Michigan in 2005 nearly broke my heart…. Not gonna lie!

WFY: What halftime show was your favorite thus far?

PJ: Last year we did a show from the Broadway show The Wiz… and it was super cool. I got to wear baton shoes that we painted red and glittered to be like Dorothy's red slippers… I was loving it ;)

WFY: In 2005, you and the Blue Band were the toast of the fashion world, but in 2006, there were no appearances at fashion shows or in the glossy magazines. What are you doing to bounce back after a season that included no performances during New York Fashion Week?

PJ: They told us right off the bat that that was a rare occasion… and probably one of the most amazing experiences of my life as well. We took tons of pictures and made lots of memories.

WFY: Please finish this song lyric "When we stood at childhood's gate..."

PJ: I know I know…Shapeless in the hands of fate – not funnnnnyy! :)

WFY: Which Penn State song is your favorite?

PJ: Definitely the singing lion and Lion Special

WFY: Do "Touch of Blue" alumni give you a hard time, "back in my day, we had to practice out in the snow (barefoot) from August through November," for having it so easy now that there is a Blue Band building?

PJ: No they are really cool, I mean, I think I would be jealous, too if I came back and saw what we have now, but they are really nice.

WFY: The Nittany Lion mascot is also a student in the college of communications; do you have any classes with him?

PJ: He is actually a year above me, but he and I are good friends.

WFY: In 2006, you endorsed a ticket for the USG election, but I don't recall you repeating that last year. Did the dissolution of USG have anything to do with your silence?

PJ: I was actually at practice that night and a friend of mine who was helping Nick and Pat's campaign asked if I would be willing to do an endorsement….it was kind of awkward, but I'd do anything to help a friend.

WFY: Which part of your major are you focusing on more, advertising or public relations?

PJ: Definitely PR – with a minor in Business. I love love love people….and so PR is basically communicating to people and reading situations and thinking quick…and so far I love my major.

WFY: One of the most popular searches on William World News is "Les Halles pronunciation." How do you pronounce the name of this popular Washington D.C. restaurant?

PJ: Seriously?

WFY: In my experience, people who choose to use initials for their name are generally mischievous. Would that be an accurate assessment of you?

PJ: I've honestly never heard that connection before, but no I am definitely not really mischievous. I ended with a 3.93 GPA last semester, received an academic scholarship, I take school almost as serious as my twirling.

WFY: Okay, one final question -- what will Penn State's record be this season?

PJ: Well, Michigan should be a very big turning point in our season. Depending on how that goes should have a large influence on the outcome of the rest of the season… I don't like to jinx things – I just say my prayers the night before the game…and remember why the sky is Blue and White. :)

P.J. Maierhofer, blue sapphire, Blue Band, Touch of Blue,PennState

Labels: Best of WWN, Blue Band, Interviews, PSU/Happy Valley, Video

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posted by WFY @ 12:02 PM | |

Happy Goose Day

Every year Mifflin Co., Penna. residents celebrate Michaelmas or St. Michael's Day in their own unique way -- Goose Day. Erica, a native of those parts, has decided that we will observe the tradition this year. Erica adds:

The belief is that if you eat roast goose on Goose Day, you will have good financial luck in the coming year, and by Goose Day Next you will be $1,000.00 richer.

I'm all for that, but I wonder when that number was decided. Has Goose Day adjusted for inflation? Is that gross or net?

More to come.

Labels: Best of WWN, Family and Friends, Food and Drink

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posted by WFY @ 7:45 AM | |

"The white seats are for the balls I hit up there. The yellow ones are for all the times I struck out."

On Saturday, Erica and I went to the Frank Howard Maker's Mark appearance at Pearson's in Glover Park [Flickr Photoset]. We had a great time listening to Hondo's stories about his playing days, taking some photographs and getting a few things signed. Some recollections:

• Howard was extremely fond of Ted Williams. When Williams came to D.C. to manage the Senators he convinced Howard to take a strike and despite some skepticsm, it worked incredibly well. Howard's walks increased by nearly doubled in 1969 and were up even more in 1970.
  
  
• Playing winter ball in latin America "was like going to college again" because he got to experience another culture, eat different food and learn another language. He also indicated how much he respected Latin American ballplayers.
  
  
• Howard hit into a triple play in his final MLB at-bat -- a sign his time was up.
  
  
• Somebody had Howard sign a photo of one of the white seats which I thought was brilliant.
  
  
• I wish I had brought some of the Yankees yearbooks I have from the late sixties when he was a "Visiting Star" as well as the early 1990s when he was a coach with the Bronx Bombers.
  
  
• The Maker's rep told us about a cocktail made with Diet Peach Snapple, Maker's and one other ingrediant. We can't remember what it is though.
  
  
• Washington is a good town for whiskey sales.
  
  
• Kentucky is no longer the top state for Maker's sales.
  
  
• I thought it was great that the Marker's bottles were being dipped in blue wax at the store and picked one up. I wish they had smaller bottles available so I could keep one as a souviner. I'm not going to buy 1.5 L and not open it...
  
  
• We ran into MissChatter, who shot video of the event.
  
  
  
  
• Screech's Best Friend from Nats320 also introduced himself. He was sporting a vintage Howard "9" jersey.
  
  
• I wound up with a signed ROY photo, a signed Jim Beam ball and a signed bottle of Maker's.

Thanks to Joe at Nationals Power for making this event known to the Natmosphere. Also, an even bigger thanks to Erica for enthusiastically delaying previous plans so we could attend this event.

Labels: BeltwayLand, Best of WWN, Food and Drink, Nats/MLB 2007, Photography, The District

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posted by WFY @ 12:55 PM | |

Rating area chili dogs

There are only a few hours left in National Hot Dog Month 2007, so I thought I would finally get around to comparing Washington D.C. area chili dogs. I think I alluded to this post as far back as last fall, but it was only recently that I got around to visiting all the establishments I intended to profile.

For the purposes of comparison, I ordered the same thing at each of these places, a chili dog with onions.

Ben's Chili Bowl - $3.45
For nearly 50 years this hole in the wall has served D.C.'s U Street, surviving the 1968 riots and the Green Line construction. Bill Cosby makes it a point to stop here when he is in town. Politicians make Ben's a regular campaign stop too.

The frankfurter probably comes in at about 1/4 lb. and is served on a steamed roll with Cincinnati style chili which is spicy and saucy, but not terribly meaty. It has more kick than your average store-brand dog. I enjoy them here, but find that the roll tends to get soggy and I'm not big on Cincy chilly, which works better on a half-smoke.

Other notes: The fries are generally tasteless and limp. The dining area can get awfully humid. The location is great though, just across the street from the U Street Metro. Its worth the trip to see an old school District institution and to get a half-smoke, but not so much the chili dog.

Vienna Inn - under $2
Since 1960 The Vienna Inn has been serving chili dogs and cold, frosty draft Budweiser. I have been going there for years.

A chili dog at the Inn goes for a mere $1.50 or $1.75, I cannot remember specifically. They are so cheap because the dogs are really small, barely the length of the bun. The quality of the dog isn't super, but it is tasty in part because it is cooked in Bud. The chili is spicy with finely ground beef. It isn't too saucy, so there is meat in every bite. The dogs go down easy, so it isn't unheard of to eat several of them in a sitting.

Other notes: The original owner, the late Mike Abraham, called The Vienna Inn just a "crummy beer joint" and in a lot of ways he was right. Since the place changed hands the windows and doors have been upgraded (probably brought up to code) and the waitresses are not nearly as surly. The service is still not fantastic, but that is part of the experience. The fries are shoestring with spices on them and are quite good.

Hard Times Cafe - $6.79
A local chain of chili joints with locations in Old Town, Clarendon, and elswhere. They have been around as far back as I can remember.

Of all the places surveyed, Hard Times has the highest quality ingredients. The all beef dogs are big at 1/4 lb. and they have Texas chili. There is a Cincinnati style as well.

Other notes: Tasty fries come with a chili dog. The interior of the Old Town location is rustic looking with lots of wood, an appropriate ambiance for a chili joint.

Weenie Beanie (no Web site) - around $2
Weenie Beanie was once a local chain, but only one remains.

I finally hit Weenie Beanie, a tiny little store at the end of the W&OD trail in Shirlington recently. The dogs are normal sized and cooked split before being filled with chili and onions. This works well as it really lets the different ingredients combine while you are eating. The chili isn't very meaty though and the serving wouldn't be called generous, but it is still tasty.

Other notes: One of the tracks on Foo Fighters first album is named "Weenie Beanie," allegedly a tribute to this tiny take-out place. There is a day labor site right next to Weenie Beanie. Half-smokes are also popular, but I haven't tried one there yet.

It is tough to decide between the Vienna Inn and Hard Times for my favorite. While Hard Times is higher quality, the Vienna Inn has a sentimental advantages. I would put Weenie Beanie over Ben's because I am not very enthusiastic about Cincinnati chili.

Someday, I'll do a similar entry about half-smokes.

chili dogs, hot dogs, DC, Virginia

Labels: BeltwayLand, Best of WWN, Food and Drink, The District, Virginia

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posted by WFY @ 8:28 PM | |

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Oh great, Sen. Clay is playing bartender again

Last month, dl004d mentioned that he had visited the Old San Juan, Puerto Rico bar that invented in the pina coloda. That reminded that Henry Clay (Whig-Kentucky) introduced the mint julep to Washington (and thus the world outside of Kentucky) at the Willard Hotel. I had been meaning to there for some time as a tribute to one of my favorite historical figures, not too mention my favorite refreshments. Several weeks ago, Erica and I, along with our visiting friend Wiley and his girlfriend Ashley, stopped by the Willard's Round Robin bar after a attending the Smithsonian Folklife festival.

Just visiting the Willard Hotel is fun because it is such a marvelous building, inside and out. The Round Robin itself is beautiful bar tasteful charactetures of famous guests as well and a black marble bar. There are also tasteful chairs, probably made out of cherry, and tables on the outside of the circular bar.


Once we seated ourselves, we each ordered a mint julep. The second bartender (whose name I wish I could recall) made the drinks with Maker's Mark, mint, and sugar. I don't recall if he used branch water (spring water) like the recipe says. I was surprised to see that he put mint in the glass before adding the ice too. There was also a lemon wedge included, which I had not seen with a mint julep previously. Thankfully, it was not squeezed out.



We all enjoyed our mint juleps, though I would have preferred it without the mint in inside because it overpowered the Maker's Mark a little if my straw was all the way to the bottom. I wouldn't have minded another one, but at $14 each, that would have been a too steep. I am not complaining though, since the Round Robin is an elegant place to enjoy a cocktail and conversation. The bartender shared some stories about the Round Robin that were quite interesting and "worth the price of admission." He also let me sample some Bulleit Bourbon on the house. I enjoyed it and may add it to my collection. I certainly enjoyed it more than the Wild Turkey Rare I ordered after my mint julep. At 108.2 proof, the alcohol in Rare Breed overpowers the taste -- I much prefer the smooth Wild Turkey 101.

While the Senator Clay's mint julep recipe is not my favorite, I enjoyed the history and ambiance of the Round Robin enough to want to return. I will certainly do so in the near future.

Labels: BeltwayLand, Best of WWN, Food and Drink, History, The District

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posted by WFY @ 12:52 PM | |

The Kwik-E-Mart is real... D'oh!

BLADENSBURG, Md. -- ON Saturday, I made my maiden voyage to the town of Bladensburg, Md. to shop at "Kwik-E-Mart" (Flickr stream). Fritz (nee MC Hamme) came along with me. In anticiption of the The Simpsons Movie in a few weeks, Fox and 7-Eleven join forces to re-branded 11 locations nationwide to look like Springfield's leading convenience store.

• I bought a six pack of Buzz cola, 2 boxes of Krusty O's (one is a wedding present for my brother, I wasn't going to stiff him), a blue (vanilla) Squishee and a pink donut. The total came to over $15. I don't think anything was marked up.
  
  
• The parking lot and store were full of losers people with cameras. They are probably making a fortune from this promotion.
  
  
• Prior to Saturday, I had probably consumed no more than two Slurpees ever and the last one would have been during Reagan's presidency -- probably his first term. After having about half of my blue Squishee, I remembered why.

• Sprinkles are overrated on donuts.
  

• I haven't tried a Buzz cola yet -- I may do it today. I'll let you know how it tastes.
  
  
• There wasn't any Duff for sale or Col. Kwik-E-Mart's Real Kentucky Bourbon proving Marc Fisher is right about Maryland being a nanny state.
  
  
• I missed Jasper in the freezer.
  
  
• I have no idea why Bladensburg was chosen as the D.C. area location instead of someplace in the District, NoVa, or Montgomery County. At least we got one though, unlike other deserving metropolises like Boston and Philadelphia. I guess this makes up for not getting Moonites in the District.
  
  
• The specific location is 4199 Kenilworth Avenue (the right side of MD 201 NORTH) not far north of Annapolis Road (MD 450)
  
  
• Even a corporation owned by someone as repugnant as Rupert Murdoch can do something right occasionally.
  
  
• There were five guys with custom Honda's parked side by side who asked Fritz to take their photograph. I don't get the whole customizing car thing, but it seemed to make them happy.
  
  
• Note: Most of the photos in the Flickr stream are actually in focus.

Fritz blogged about it as well, make sure you go there too.


Kwik-E-Mart, The Simpsons, 7-Eleven, Maryland, Bladensburg

Labels: BeltwayLand, Best of WWN, Datelines, Food and Drink, Maryland, Photography

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posted by WFY @ 12:12 PM | |

I'm not going to do your dirty work, Angelo$

I just received an email from MASN asking me to link to an Astroturf-roots Web site that advocates MASN being installed on a North Carolina cable system. While I sympathize with Carolinians who can't watch the Nats, I am not going to help MASN out.

I'm almost flattered that MASN took the time to spam me, but clearly they don't read this site because if they did, they would know I think very little of their operation and nothing of its owner, Peter Angelo$. Keeping me from watching my team for nearly two seasons won't be forgiven any time soon, nor will the condescending attitude displayed during the first Nationals vs. O's series this season.

If Angelo$ cares so much about North Carolina baseball fans he can do one of two things:

1.) Relinquish the "territory" in North Carolina

2.) Return the Nationals TV rights to the Nationals

Anything short of either of those steps will be seen as nothing but another money grab by Angelo$, whose fear of competition on the field from the Yankees and Red Sox and in the D.C.-Baltimore region led to unprecedented welfare from MLB. NC fans, like D.C. fans, are being punished because Angelo$ is a vindictive coward, so why would I try and help him?

MASN, Peter Angelo$

Labels: Best of WWN, Media, Nats/MLB 2007, Peter Angelos is a coward, Television, Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot

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posted by WFY @ 5:54 PM | |

Publicly scolding Peter Angelo$ never gets old. It is not like I included the name or link to the astroturf-roots protest MASN put together.

# posted by  WFY : Tuesday, June 26, 2007 9:56:00 AM  

I've been Express-ed

My return to Metroblogging DC is now officially triumphant. For the first time (that I know of) Express, the free tabloid The Post gives out, has referenced a blog post of mine...sort of. Yesterday's entry about the difficulties of finding Schweppes tonic water in greater Arlandria got this blurb:


Page 36 (PDF)
I'm glad they liked my post enough to mention it. I have still got a ways to go before I pass dl004d for Express appearances though.

Labels: Best of WWN, Blogging/WWW

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posted by WFY @ 7:43 PM | |

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Summertime is gin and tonic time

Are you concerned about scurvy or malaria this summer? I know I am.

Do you find that beer, wine or soda are not quite refreshing enough when you are sitting on your deck or patio after a day in the sun? Don't be embarrassed, it happens to me too.

Do you wish there was way to address all of these concerns at once? Of course you do!

Thankfully, there is solution and it is called a gin and tonic. Many of you already know this answer, but I fear you don't know the full glory of this cocktail. Most if not all gin and tonics I have ever ordered at a bar have been mediocre or just plain bad because of poor ingredients. By following the recipe below, you can realize the perfect gin and tonic this summer.

First things first, what is the most important ingredient in a gin and tonic? If said gin, you are incorrect. In fact, gin may be the third or fourth most important ingredient because a great gin and tonic starts with the tonic. Inferior or warm tonic (like many bars use) or club soda will ruin a gin and tonic faster than anything. To avoid this, I use Schweppes tonic water exclusively. If I don't have any, don't bother making a gin and tonic until you get some and refrigerate it because no other tonic water comes close. Schweppes stands alone at the top because of its excellent carbonation -- tiny bubbles instead of big ones. Buy it in little glass bottles because they are superior to the big plastic ones because the chill and carbonation is retained. The extra cost is worth it.

It is debatable whether the ice, which should be fresh, the lime (I like cutting it when I make the drink, not before), or gin is the next most important ingredient. I've had good gin and tonics made with rail gin and bad gin and tonics made with good gin.

After years of tinkering my method, I have come up with what I believe is the best way to make a gin and tonic. You'll need the following:

gin (I usually use Gordon's or Beefeater)

tonic (Schweppes, chilled)

lime

ice

glass or cup (we're partial to Solo cold cups)



Start off buy cutting about 1/8 of the lime into a wedge. Squeeze the lime into the cup and then rub the it the rim and drop in the bottom.



Pour about two fingers of gin into the cup.



Feel free to add another wedge if you really like lime or don't have a real juicy one.



Add ice -- I typically go with 8-10 pieces from my icemaker, but used about six when I used trays. Make sure there isn't too much ice, you need room for tonic.



Empty bottle into cup slowly.



Stir and enjoy a scurvy and malaria free summer! Drink responsibly!



Cheers!

gin, tonic, Schweppes, gin and tonic

Labels: Best of WWN, Food and Drink

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posted by WFY @ 12:28 PM | |

I wish I could like gin. That sounds good.

# posted by  DCSportsChick : Friday, June 01, 2007 1:33:00 PM  

It looks like Solo has added another inovation to the plastic cup: a grip.

# posted by  Anonymous : Friday, June 01, 2007 4:37:00 PM  

Bog TV appearance

I made a very brief appearance on an episode of Washington Post Live's Bog TV last week. The footage, taken at MissChatter's tailgate, shows up about two minutes in.

Labels: Best of WWN, Blogging/WWW

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posted by WFY @ 5:33 AM | |

Finally, a decent snowstorm (for a while at least)

The "light snow & sleet, turning to rain" forecasted today has turned out to be a 3½ of snow instead, our highest total of the season. I am not complaining though, if it is going to be cold out, it might as well be snowy. Erica, Fritz and I took advantage of it by building a snowman in Grace Murray Hooper Park, also known as the front yard of our building.







I also have more photos in my flickr set National Capital on Ice. Here is a preview:



How long until Opening Day?

Labels: BeltwayLand, Best of WWN, Capitals - The Dark Years, Capitals/NHL, Family and Friends, Photography, Virginia, Weather

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posted by WFY @ 3:39 PM | |

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Pocono Skiing II: Big Boulder

LAKE HARMONY, Pa. -- After spending the afternoon on Jack Frost Mountain, Wiley and I headed for
Big Boulder. We drove the private toll road (25¢) connecting the two ski areas, winding through Split Rock, a pleasant resort community on Lake Harmony, over to Big Boulder. We arrived just after opening and bypassed the lodge and headed straight to the slopes.


It was parka weather at Big Boulder

My ski classes in college were at Big Boulder, so I am more familiar
with it than any other ski resort. I have been there at least fifteen times, mostly at night, so this is my "home" for skiing. However, as I had mentioned in my Pocono Skiing I, Big Boulder had transformed itself into a very snowboard friendly resort, so I should say that I was familiar with it rather than I am. In total, there are four snowboard parks on the mountain, one of which replaced my second favorite slope ever, Merry Widow. So, with this in mind, my attitude towards Big Boulder was not as positive as it otherwise would have been. However, since it was our second resort of the day, Wiley and I were still pretty upbeat.


Wiley on Upper Sitzmark, I think.

Our first ride up the lift quickly reminded us that Big Boulder is a bigger, colder mountain. I threw my royal blue parka on over my hockey sweater for the rest of the afternoon. Wiley remained in his stylish
Channel 69 (Family Zone TV) parka. The winds were also stronger. We started off on Upper Sitzmark which fed into Lower Sitzmark. This proved to be a bad idea since we quickly got stuck in the area. After two trips up short lifts, we drifted back over to the middle of the mountain. I cannot recall the exact order, but we took a ride down Mittl-Weg and a few rides down Bunny's Elbow. Mittl-Weg's conditions were typical of Big Boulder, overgroomed to the point of being crunchy in spots. It had forgotten how Big Boulder tended to be icy, though that is likely in part to the fact that I skied it during the day no more than twice and had not seen the sun during either of those visits.


Skiing down Bunny Schuss

Thankfully, Bunny's Elbow still had pretty good conditions. In what is likely the only improvement of the move to greater snowboard friendliness, the top of the run is fashioned as a border-cross. The three or four additional dips make the run a lot of fun, despite its rating. I spent the rest of the evening on this slope, since my legs were just too tired for trails. I took a run or two along Bunny Schuss, essentially a shortcut off of Bunny's Elbow, but found it a little less enjoyable since it was slightly shorter. For one thing, Bunny's Elbow had a view of the Pocono Speedway and Delaware Water Gap.


So much for the Golden Hour. Wiley with Pocono Raceway in the background.

As the sun set, we started getting cold again and finished off the second part of our snow day. We returned my skis, stopped at the Pocono Interchange McDonald's, and headed back to York.

I'll give Big Boulder a rating of , a demotion due to the increase of snowboard parks.

Yesterday: Pocono Skiing I: Jack Frost

Skiing, Poconos, Big Boulder Mountain, Pennyslvania

Labels: Best of WWN, Capitals - The Dark Years, Capitals/NHL, Datelines, Family and Friends, Pennsylvania, Skiing, Travel

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posted by WFY @ 12:04 PM | |

Pocono Skiing I: Jack Frost

BLAKESLEE, Pa. -- While the drive up I-81 was an interesting trip up memory lane, Friday's main event was a day of skiing in the Pocono Mountains. I first became acquainted with the region during my first two years of college at Penn State Hazleton. One of campus' biggest pluses was being less than 40 miles away from most Pocono ski resorts, and I took advantage of that by taking skiing classes both winters I was there. It was a pretty good way to fulfill my ESACT requirement. Big Boulder Ski Resort was the site of the 7-week class, so I got to know it quite well.

Since we were driving from York and wanted to maximize our time on the slopes, Wiley and I choose Big Boulder over Camelback, which was farther away. We were quite pleased to see a little bit of natural snow on the drive up, starting near Tower City. By the time we passed Hazleton, snow covered the entire ground. This held true along I-80, even though the elevation is significantly lower than I-81.

Before we arrived at the resort, we stopped at County Line Ski Rentals on PA 903. It was there that we learned Big Boulder did not open until 4 p.m. on weekdays, d'oh! Thankfully, Jack Frost Mountain, Big Boulder's brother, was open during the day and not too far away. I was not too disappointed in this development because I got to try out a new resort. Also, I had seen that Big Boulder had become a more snowboard-friendly resort at the cost of some excellent runs, like Merry Widow.

I'm tall
After a circuitous journey from Big Boulder to Jack Frost (note, the signing is poor on PA 115, make sure you turn onto PA 940 WEST) we arrived. Jack Frost is the first resort that I have been to that has the lodge/parking at the top of the mountain. That turned out to be rather convenient, since after buying lift tickets, all we had to do was put our skis on and go downhill. We took a run or two down Snowflake and made our way Over to the intermediate slopes. First we skied Lehigh, followed by Exhibition and then Dematte's Demise. I enjoyed all three runs, but probably preferred Dematte's Demise the most. Wiley, a more experienced skier, was ready for something more demanding, so we took The Challenge. After The Challenge, we attacked attempted Thunderbolt, an ungroomed run with moguls. If I recall correctly, Wiley took it first and had a little trouble. I got farther down the mountain before doing a face plant coming off a mogul. Wiley was quite amused and remarked that it looked like a skier exploded. Having lost the following: ski hat, both poles, a ski, and my sunglasses, he may have been on to something. I think I also bounced at least one ski on my kneecap. Eventually, I got myself back together again and finished the run without further incident.


Before I knew better

Having been reminded of our limitations, we moved back over to Dematte's Demise and attacked it with gusto. Those runs make the 's seem quite easy.


Wiley handled it better

We enjoyed several more trips down the mountain before heading into the lodge to warm up and get a snack. Inside, we found the exact same fare we had seen at every ski slope we had been to in our lives. Since it was a school day, the lines were non-existent and tables were plentiful. It was a nice change of pace from what we were used to on the weekends. The prices were also not particularly unreasonable; my order of fries and hot chocolate came in at $5.

After warming up inside, we went back outside to the best conditions of the day. The partly cloudy skies of the early afternoon had switched to mostly sunny with a temperature of about 25° which was just about ideal with the sun out -- cold enough to keep the snow from melting, but sunny enough to keep us from getting really cold. The wind was occasionally gusting, particularly on Sno-Chute, a run that feeds The Challenge. I was quite comfortable wearing five layers on my upper body (and looking sharp in my Penn State hockey sweater) and three layers on my legs (including sweat pants and wool Army pants on the top). The snow was packed powder for the most part with little ice and not too much grooming. I don't think you could hope for much better conditions on man-made snow.

After a couple of quick rides, we attempted Thunderbolt again. Having learned from our previous errors, we stayed to the left side of the slope. Wiley (who it must be said has a much lower center of gravity) was able to make it down unscathed, while I had some unspectacular falls on my trips down. I did make it down without incident once.


Wiley's St. Bernard

Having had our fill of moguls, we went over to the far side of the mountain and tried out 's over there. Telstar, Lightning and Solitude all fed Floyd's Folly to the bottom. I preferred Telstar, a longer run that overlooked the Lehigh River. It had the best view from the resort (is it just me or is the scenery in the Poconos generally underwhelming?) and a good descent before leveling off a little too much. It is an impressive ride nonetheless. We enjoyed it several times, but as the afternoon grew late, we headed back to the center of the mountain, riding down Sno-Chute (the windiest part of the mountain) before taking a final ride down The Challenge and Dematte's Demise. We rode the lift back to the top, took our skis off and walked to Wiley's Jeep. It was time to head over to Big Boulder and take advantage for the transferable lift tickets for some more skiing.


Hi Mom!

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with Jack Frost. Though it was small and apparently has less of a snow base than other Pocono resorts, I was quite pleased with what it had to offer. For an intermediate level skier like me (with no aspirations of being an expert) it was a solid ski area. I would not recommend it above Camelback, which is my favorite resort, but it is a good choice if Camelback is not an option. Using the ski conditions scale, I give it a .

Tomorrow: Pocono Skiing II: Big Boulder

Skiing, Poconos, Jack Frost Mountain,

Labels: Best of WWN, Capitals - The Dark Years, Capitals/NHL, Datelines, Family and Friends, Pennsylvania, Skiing, Travel

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posted by WFY @ 12:03 PM | |

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Weingarten interview: Liz Kelly responds

One of the more controversial parts of my recent interview with Gene Weingarten was the following exchange:

WFY: Speaking of Liz, how is she holding up now that she does not have to moderate the weekly discussion? Is she relieved, or will we be seeing a column called "Why washingtonpost.com doesn't need Weingarten" any day now?

GW: Lizzie and I were talking just yesterday. It it sad what has happened to the woman in my absence. Turns out, I was really the poor kid's life. Chivalry does not permit me to be specific, but think fishnet stockings, MD 20/20, and 14th Street.

I mentioned then that if Ms. Kelly cared to respond to Mr. Weingarten's statements, I would provide the forum for her to do so. Here are her remarks:

Gene's answer is indicative of his delusional belief that the world revolves around him. As many of Gene's readers know, I write a daily blog for washingtonpost.com (www.washingtonpost.com/celebritology) which vies with our politics blog The Fix as the top blog on the site. I also do daily radio hits with Post radio about celebrity gossip and, this Thursday, will start my own weekly live discussion: Celebritology Live. When I'm not busy doing all of the above, though, I do in fact spend my time worshipping at a crude basement altar to Gene. I have some of his fingernail clippings and it's made all the difference.

Labels: Best of WWN, Interviews, Media

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posted by WFY @ 12:29 PM | |

Q&A: Gene Weingarten

Last November the popular washingtonpost.com live discussion Chatological Humor* went dark. The decision by host Gene Weingarten was controversial even though he said he would return in April. Recently, I had the opportunity to ask Mr. Weingarten some questions about his sabbatical.

WFY: You said you were simply too busy to keep doing the chat. Specifically, you said:

I have arrayed before me five months of deadlines that are squeezing me like a F-cup breast (work safe) in one of those mammogram machines. I'm writing a book. Writing a movie with Dave Barry. Writing a new, dreadful, immovable cover story on deadline. A comic strip, with my son. Something had to give. I've already given up vacations, weekends, sleep, and sex, but I draw the line at food, particularly sushi and Tiramisu.

However, those are not the real reasons, are they? You just want to look like a big man and take a sabbatical like Gary Larson, Bill Waterson, Gary Trudeau, and Dave Barry. Oh and you wanted to hurt us too, right?

Gene Weingarten: I'm too busy to answer this one.

WFY: How are those "projects" going?

GW: Think F-Cups in mammograms, but don't think about it too long.

WFY: In order, please list which features of the chat you miss the most

a) discussions of lavatory etiquette
b) talking about short skirts, boots, VPL
c) the bully pulpit for your political beliefs
d) gushing about dogs
e) confronting your unrequited love for your Chatological Humor's producer, Liz Kelly
e) virtual panties being thrown at you by hotties

GW: It's probably the panties. Which permits me to disclose something here, possibly for the first time. I have on occasion received actual, corporeal underpants in the mail. I believe four times, total. One was from a man. One was so large I really, really want to think it was a joke. In fact, if the lady who sent them to me is within the reach of this phosphorus, could you please confirm to my man Yurasko here that it was a joke?

WFY: Speaking of Liz, how is she holding up now that she does not have to moderate the weekly discussion? Is she relieved, or will we be seeing a column called "Why washingtonpost.com doesn't need Weingarten" any day now?

GW: Lizzie and I were talking just yesterday. It it sad what has happened to the woman in my absence. Turns out, I was really the poor kid's life. Chivalry does not permit me to be specific, but think fishnet stockings, MD 20/20, and 14th Street. (WFY: Ms. Kelly's side of the story is here.)

WFY: What about The Rib? Have you made dinner table conversations insufferable for her since no longer have an unedited, weekly forum? What about your puppy? Pat the Perfect?

GW: Fishnet stockings, MD 20/20 and 14th Street for the lot of them.

WFY: Q: Has your credulity as the sole arbiter of humor been questioned since you stopped the chat?

GW: You mean credibility, I think. I also miss the grammar/language authoritarianism.

WFY: I do mean credibility, this was a spell checking error that I caught immediately after the message was sent. Apparently, my attempt to recall the message was fruitless. Let's try it again:

WFY: Has your credibility as the sole arbiter of humor been questioned since you stopped the chat?

GW: No, my license has been renewed, by God, through the spring of 2009.

WFY: A popular search on my blog is the pronunciation of the restaurant Les Halles. How do you pronounce it?

GW: Rhymes with Lay Doll, no?

WFY: How many games will the Nationals win this year?

GW: 58.

WFY: You are coming back, right?

GW: Yes.

WFY: Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions, slacker.

GW: Expletive deleted you, too.

WFY: Shouldn't that be "F you!"

* Formerly known as "Funny? You Should Ask."

Labels: BeltwayLand, Best of WWN, Chats, Interviews, Media

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posted by WFY @ 12:02 PM | |

New NHL uniforms: Possibly not the worst thing ever

New NHL uniforms promise better play - USA Today
The new hockey uniforms are previewed. Thankfully, the jersey does not tuck in, so this may not be the doomsday that was predicted.

This change likely means that the Captials will finally return to red, white and blue. You may recall I got Capitals owner Ted Leonsis to say on the record that it was a matter of when, not if, the colors would revert back to red, white and blue.

WFY: What's going on with the uniforms? It seems every year we have people scratching their heads wondering if you'll be going back to red, white, and blue uniforms.

Leonsis: We will eventually go back to red, white, and blue. For every person who sends me an email that wants the color change or new uniform, I get as many mails, mostly from mothers, saying "please don't change the uniform because then I have to buy the new jersey for my children and they are very expensive." I am very cognizant of that and when we're changing the uniform I don't want it to look like we are doing it to generate money. To be honest, that is not even how it works. We're not the recipient of individual, additional jersey sales. That is a misconception. The NHL overall is looking at changing the style, the weight and making the uniforms more contemporary. So, I think we'll just wait and see when the NHL goes to a new design and style and new color scheme and logos ready and that would be the time to do it.

MBDC: I imagine there will be a lot of effort put into that when the time comes, so there is not a repeat of the Buffaslug disaster.

Leonsis: *laughs* Yes, we will make sure we have total fan buy-in before do anything.

Hopefully, it won't be this design:



I grabbed the image above (without permission) from NHLuniforms.com, an excellent site that you should all visit. This was listed under the 2000-2001 season as a "bonus uniform." The story goes that the Caps were going to start playing in these, but e-mails from mothers who didn't want to have to buy new jerseys for their kids made Leonsis' mind. I hope the new uniforms have a simpler Capitol dome logo with stars up and down the sleeves like the original sweaters. We'll see.

Hat tip to: Off Wing Opinion.

What other bloggers are saying: On Frozen Blog, Bleatings from a Caps Nut, Japers Rink, A View from the Cheap Seats. By the way, I enjoyed meeting some of them at Kevin Hatcher Fan Club's Happy Hour at Bugsy's in Old Town on Tuesday.

Boy, isn't that much more interesting than talking about the Caps current play? At least they swept the Flyers.

Oh and next time the NHL does this sort of thing, maybe they ought to use a grown-up as the model in the publicity photo.

Labels: Best of WWN, Blogging/WWW, Capitals - The Dark Years, Capitals/NHL

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posted by WFY @ 12:15 PM | |

Mmm, victory

PHILADELPHIA -- I finally cashed in my winnings from the Nats victory in the 2006 season series with the Fleas today. The Ombudsman was quite gracious in defeat. The cheesesteak was delicious of course.

I have a bad feeling that there will be no repeat next year. I fully expect that it'll be me giving a concession speech in Ben's Chili Bowl over chili halfsmokes.

Labels: Best of WWN, Family and Friends, Food and Drink, Nats/MLB 2006, Northeast Corridor, Pennsylvania, Travel

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posted by WFY @ 7:48 PM | |

Congratulations Christopher and Sarah

My brother Christopher has decided to take the plunge! Last week he proposed to his lovely girlfriend Sarah and she said yes. We look forward to their wedding next summer and welcome Sarah to the family. Good job, Christopher!

Labels: Best of WWN, Family and Friends

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posted by WFY @ 5:37 AM | |

Q&A: Ted Leonsis

On Wednesday, September 27, I interviewed Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis about the upcoming Capitals season for Metroblogging DC. We discussed the CBA, the new Ballston practice facility, the challenges of the D.C. sports marketplace, the Southeast division and of course Alex Ovechkin.

Ted Leonsis bought the Washington Capitals hockey team in 1999 and immediately brought a new perspective to professional sports ownership. The AOL executive made himself accessible to his fanbase by answering personal emails from fans and writing the "Owner's Corner" column on washingtoncaps.com. Recently, he began blogging as well.

Recently, Mr. Leonsis took the time to answer some questions for Metroblogging DC. The Caps begin their season tonight, in New York against the Rangers. Their home opener is this Saturday with the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes coming to town.

---

WFY: We are coming into year 2 of the post-CBA era and the Alex Ovechkin era, both of which must be very exciting to you. Why don't you talk about how the new CBA helps the Capitals in Year 2.

Ted Leonsis: I think we shouldn't focus on Collective Bargaining Agreements. I think that the league went through a very tough gut check into trying to make for a business model that could be fairer to all 30 teams and would also inject more competitiveness into the league. I think we are rapidly getting to that point where like the NFL and the NBA -- no one really knows what their team is spending but feel comfortable that each team has a shot to make the playoffs and win a championship. You do not have that in baseball. In baseball you still have teams that spend 200 million and teams that spend 20 million and in the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL you have more parity, if you will, regardless of market size of if a team owns their own TV network. That is what we were desperate for in our league and we have that and on top of that we have new rules. I think last night was very instructive -- the Caps played the Flyers and in the old days the Flyers were bigger tougher and had a higher payroll. And now the payrolls are pretty much comparable...maybe $10 million difference, but the emphasis is on speed, the emphasis is young legs and skill and you want a league where the stars are allowed to shine and where people want to see great offensive skills allowed to prosper and I think that is what we are starting to see. The new CBA, the new rules are making for a more exciting NHL and I think we have built and organization and a team that was designed for the new rules and the new model and I am very optimistic about where we are headed as a franchise.

WFY: One of the contributors to the new exciting NHL is Washington's very own Alex Ovechkin who won the Calder Cup, which is the rookie of the year in hockey last season, with over 100 points last season. How much has Alex meant to the franchise in the short term; and in the long term, how much is he going to mean to the franchise?

Leonsis: We're blessed in that we appear to have a once in a generation kind of player, he is a phenomenally gifted athlete and hockey player. The season that he had last year really was the best entry of a rookie probably in the last 25 years, but certainly one of the top 3 first seasons of any player in the NHL in 80+ years history. He is only going to get better as he matures and gets stronger and also learns how the league paces itself. it is a very long season and hopefully playoff games and his engine runs at a very high RPM and he is going to have to learn to pick his spots a little bit more. We're most blessed that he is really a terrific young man. I remember once having lunch with Red Auerbach, who told me that your best player also has to be your best person, and as you look back at his history in the NBA winning so many world championships that his best player be, it a Bill Russell or John Havlicek or Larry Bird, they were not only phenomenal athletes, but they were phenomenal leaders and they were humble and took great joy, not in personal success, but in the team's success; and we really do have that with Alex.

Leonsis: This off season he was quoted as saying, "If I scored 20 goals and we made the playoffs, I'd be much happier than scoring 60 goals and not making the playoffs." That is what you want form your foundational player and we have built a team that has a lot of great young talent and the are all in their early 20s and my goal is to build a generationally-good team. I don't just want to make the playoffs just one year, I want us to make the playoffs on a consistent basis and win a bunch of Cups along the way and I think the way you do that is that you have a team that at its core are all growing and peaking together. We're in the second year of this rebuild and I think we are a little ahead of schedule.

WFY: Where are you in terms of the schedule with getting fans in the seats? There are some people who don't believe that Washington is a hockey town. Recently on your blog you are making the argument that it is becoming a hockey town. How are you doing with marketing the team, especially now that you have this incredible talent in an Alex Ovechkin?

Leonsis: You could argue that Washington overall is a Redskins town, but you look and the Nationals are struggling at the gate right now, their honeymoon lasted one year and the Caps always struggled at the gate, and frankly the Wizards don't have an easy time, too. It is all of our challenge to try and connect with our community and be more successful at the gate. What I decided to do is to structure the team in the economic model for the market that we see, and there is nothing wrong with what we see. There is nothing wrong with averaging 15-16 per game which is what I think we can do this year. I would love to have a situation where we sell out, but I think we're struggling to do that; and right now we are at about 85% renewal of our season tickets and plans, which is a very positive sign for us. We have to sell more season tickets and more groups so we can get to what I would think be a fair amount of attendance which is about 80%. The arena seats like 18,500 we can get 16,000 this year, I'd be very happy.

WFY: As part of that, you are focusing on the season ticket holders. Are you doing a lot of outreach to the former season ticket holders who may not have been happy with the direction the franchise went?

Leonsis: Yes, they mostly came back last year; and this year, I would say the core of the fan base has returned and that is what is so positive for the NHL. Of all the leagues we had the most success post-lockout. Our challenge is crossing that chasm and reaching a more casual fan; and when you look at what our challenge is, we need 1,000 new season ticket holders that buy 2 to 3 tickets per game. That is the difference for us between a modicum of success and a grand slam success, 3,000 more people per game. It's another 1,000 accounts. That is what our focus is on, trying to tap into the Maryland/Washington D.C./Northern Virginia area to find that 1,000 new accounts.

WFY: What about single game tickets? How are you going to be marketing towards you more casual sports fan or the Redskins fan?

Leonsis: There is no ROI on marketing individual games. The average ticket price is $30 and the most you'll sell on a walkup basis is 300 tickets, so it looks like $100,000 worth the business and you could spend $100,000 on television or print advertising pretty easily and so that is why you want to build the Washington Capitals brand. You really want to have the online tools through the blogosphere, online marketing, search terms, having an interactive ticketing engine, to make it very convenient for people to buy tickets. It is also why season tickets and plans are the lifeblood of your team, and I'll be sincere when I say we can sell out Friday/Saturday night games when we play the Rangers, Philadelphia, or Pittsburgh; those are easy sells for us. It is the Monday night game against Calgary, and when you sell season tickets you get that revenue, so that is why season ticket sales are so important to NHL franchises.

WFY: One of the other things that you are doing that I imagine was built with building up the fan base. You are building a new practice facility in Ballston. How did you decide to put it in Ballston, as opposed to further out where land might be cheaper?

Leonsis: The first thing was that we were sub-optimized in the space we had at Piney Orchard. The Piney Orchard camp and practice facility was created when we played at the old USAir Arena and it meant that the nexus of living space for the players and the staff were out near Baltimore or Annapolis. When we moved into the MCI Center, now Verizon Center, it didn't make sense anymore. The majority of the fan base changed; it had moved from deep in Maryland to be in Bethesda, Washington, DC and Northern Virginia. In fact, Northern Virginia is where 62% of our season ticket base now comes from, so we felt it was in our best interest to relocate the office and the practice facility, and then where the players and staff live to be in the heart of the fan base. So we ended up doing a great deal with the city of Ballston where they donated the land, they owned the parking lot that was adjacent to the mall in Ballston and we built a new office building and two sheets of ice and a big training and practice area for the Caps that we should be moving in November.

WFY: You mentioned blogosphere earlier and on washingtoncaps.com you have a link to several Web sites you call "hockey-friendly blogs?"

Leonsis: The traditional media is not helping us enough. I'll say it as straight forwardly as possible and I'll give you a very graphic example -- last night the Caps played Philadelphia. When the game ended, in Philadelphia there were highlights of the game on all the Philadelphia news stations and their local cable channel was having a sports show talking about the Flyers-Caps game and here in the D.C. There was nothing on television and our local sports channel was talking about the Navy football game on Saturday. We have to find alternative means to promote our team and our players and I have great faith in people who blog. If they are blogging they are not doing it for a living, they are doing it out of passion and love and we are going to be the most blog friendly team and I hope the NHL becomes the most blog friendly league because it is a way to pay back these people on their passions and it also a way to get the good word out. That I am doing this interview with you is a good example. You blog, you care, so you deserve time and respect.

WFY: And it is certainly appreciated. In particular on one blog that sticks out -- that you have certainly appeared on and the Capitals have gotten a lot of mention on is Off Wing Opinion. You have even worked with Eric McErlain to work on some standards and practices for allowing bloggers into the press box. Could you elaborate on that a little?

Leonsis: I think that we have to start looking at the bloggers as part of the landscape and there will come a time when you have to invite the bloggers to come into your press area and come into your locker room. I felt we should be leaders in working with some of the leading bloggers with a fair set of rules of the road and we have been working on that and we have published it and let other bloggers bang away at the rules and I feel very comfortable that it can be self policed well and no one will take advantage of what we are trying to create.

WFY: What's going on with the uniforms? It seems every year we have people scratching their heads wondering if you'll be going back to red, white, and blue uniforms.

Leonsis: We will eventually go back to red, white, and blue. For every person who sends me an email that wants the color change or new uniform, I get as many mails, mostly from mothers, saying "please don't change the uniform because then I have to buy the new jersey for my children and they are very expensive." I am very cognizant of that and when we're changing the uniform I don't want it to look like we are doing it to generate money. To be honest, that is not even how it works. We're not the recipient of individual, additional jersey sales. That is a misconception. The NHL overall is looking at changing the style, the weight and making the uniforms more contemporary. So, I think we'll just wait and see when the NHL goes to a new design and style and new color scheme and logos ready and that would be the time to do it.

WFY: I imagine there will be a lot of effort put into that when the time comes, so there is not a repeat of the Buffaslug disaster.

Leonsis: *laughs* Yes, we will make sure we have total fan buy-in before do anything.

WFY: Getting back to the ticketing, how does the Southeast division impacted you ability to sell tickets?

Leonsis: The realignment was not good for us. We didn't have long-term rivalries with Tampa Bay or Florida or with Carolina. Ironically, the last two Stanley Cup winners have been Southeast division teams. We used to hear about how weak the division was, both Tampa Bay and Carolina won the Cup. Atlanta looks like it could the next great young team and I think we won't far behind. It probably emerged as the strongest division in hockey and yet because we have not had long playoff competition history with Pittsburgh or the Flyers or the Rangers, the fan base doesn't turn out in droves and secondly there is not the built in local fan base of the opposing teams. When we play the Flyers, or Detroit, or Boston or Chicago or Pittsburgh, we probably get 2,00 to 3,000 who grew up fans of that team that come. When we play Tampa, if you see five opposing fans in the arena wearing Tampa bay jerseys I'd be surprised. If I had my way we'd play Pittsburgh, and the Flyers and Detroit and Boston on a Friday or Saturday and sell out every game. That's not the cards that were dealt to us and now we are in a very tough division playing teams 8 times a year that don't draw that well. That has been one of our biggest challenges.

WFY: I have a question about Pittsburgh. There are a lot of displaced Penguins in this area. If the Penguins are to leave Pittsburgh will you make any effort to grab some of disenfranchised Penguins fans who now live in this area?

Leonsis: I have no idea what is going to happen. It would be in our best interest that if Pittsburgh moves that the Caps take their place and move into that division. There has never been a single conversation, e-mail, anything on it, so I have not spent five seconds thinking about it.

WFY: I recall when Hurricane Katrina happened all of the local teams got together for charity purposes. There were donations at RFK during Nats and United games. Is that something we can expect to see in the future? The local major league teams working together on charities.

Leonsis: Lots of things...Ovechkin is throwing our the opening pitch at the Nats game tonight and we'll have a bunch of our players there. The Nats are promoting the Caps and the Mystics. The Caps and Mystics are going to be promoting the Nats. The Lerner family owns a small piece of the Mystics and Caps and we're going to try to be good cooperative co-marketing partners. Our belief is that if the tide rises maybe boats will rise with it. it is in our best interest to be mutually supportive of each other.

WFY: Another issue that comes up regularly is why hasn't there been an All-Star game or NHL Draft in the District yet. Is this something that we can expect to happen or that you are lobbying to have happen?

Leonsis: I have not actively lobbied, mostly because I don't own the building. We have had our hands full in trying to build our franchise. I know there are some discussions here right now about getting the WNBA all-star game to D.C. I am sure at some point we'll have the NHL All-Star game.

WFY: What are Alex Ovechkin and now Alex Semin going to mean to this team and the city? Are you going to market both of them a little more?

Leonsis: I think we have to market the team and let the breakout players stand on their own. I do believe we will have some young, gifted players who will grow up together. We will have four of the top young forwards in the NHL for a long time to come. Ovechkin, Semin, Nicklas Backstrom when he comes and plays... hopefully next year and Eric Fehr -- will be four young, great forwards that will play together for a long, long time. Defensively, Mike Green and Jeff Schultz and Steve Eminger, and Shaone Morrisonn are four young top #1 picks that will grow up together. That is a very very strong core nucleus of #1 draft choices who are all in their early 20s that are getting lots of playing time. they have had success in the AHL -- our AHL team won the Calder Cup last year. We hope we create a culture of winning with higher and higher expectations year after year.

WFY: You mentioned the culture of winning, your AHL affiliate is now the Hershey Bears which is probably the most distinguished minor league hockey team -- they've been for a 100 years or so. How is teaming up with Hershey working out?

Leonsis: It worked out spectacularly well for us. They have a great system, we have a great working relationship. Very close -- when we want to call up a player they drive 100 miles and their hear and they don't have to fly and try to get in and out of a place like Portland, Maine where the is not a direct flights. The system worked so well last year we won the championship. A lot of those players will have the opportunity to make our team this year and that is exactly what we wanted. We felt that doing Hershey, that building a new practice facility, continuing to draft well, managing our cap well so that when people's contracts expire we can keep them and that all of this would culminate into a very, very valuable franchise that is on the incline. That is what we want, we wanted to build an identify. We wanted to basically create a team.. I call it NHL 2.0, it's Washington Capitals 2.0. Be ready for a new league economics, be ready for the new rules, the new NHL and try to anticipate and understand what that will all mean and build a team that takes advantage of what the new rules would be.

WFY: Olie Kolzig means a lot to the Capitals. He's been there for about 10 years.

Leonsis: I think Olie has been in the system for about 15 years almost half our lifetime. He's a remarkable leader, a great athlete and a great person. He and Alex are really the bedrocks of our team right now. He is very loyal to us and we are very loyal to him. My sincerest goal is to build a team he can a cup from.

WFY: He's certainly one of the most popular Capitals ever. What about some of the most popular Capitals ever? Will we be seeing more of the Dale Hunters, Rod Langways around?

Leonsis: Rod, we have totally embraced...Rod has carte blanche with us. Dale we love, but Dale is fully engaged in is hometown. He owns a junior team and the arena, he is very happy up there but, he is still a member of the court here and he brings great tradition and great history and great learning's when we are around him. He is personally one of my favorite people.

WFY: Recently in your blog you noted that every regular season game is televised. Was that not the case when you came on board?

Leonsis: That was one of the deliverables that I promised. We are trying to meet our commitment. The glass is being replaced with brand new glass at the Verizon. Not a big deal, a very nice thing for Washington Sports and Abe Pollin to do for us. It cost a lot of money, but it'll make the viewing experience that much better. Working with television to get every game on was important. Last night, we tried to broadcast our game in broadband, we had some difficulties. You were only able to listen to the game through internet radio. We are tying to do lots of little things to make the whole Capitals experience more pleasant for our fans.

WFY: Speaking of little things, will you be putting up any banners downtown?

Leonsis: We're not allowed to do it. The city has to do it fro you. You can hardly do any outdoor advertising. A couple of walls they'll allow you to do it. I do think the city needs to help us. It needs to help promote baseball and hockey. In case anyone hasn't noticed, Verizon Center is one of the catalysts for the turnaround of downtown D.C. The City is going to put up $600 million or so, they need to continue to help make these franchises successful.

WFY: Are there any parting notes you would like to say to the fans who are excited about Caps hockey or interested in learning about it?

Leonsis: I think we're trying to do right now is explain to people there has never been a better time to invest. I like to explain to people that the Chicago Bulls when they drafted Michael Jordan still had tickets available and then they started to make the playoffs and win championships and you couldn't get near the place. Now is the time to buy in. This is like a young stock -- great company about to IPO and there has never been a better time and it'll never be easier or cheaper to get tickets and get involved and I do think the team is on the upswing and we will build a really good team for a long time.

Labels: BeltwayLand, Best of WWN, Capitals - The Dark Years, Capitals/NHL, History, Interviews, Media, Sports, Virginia

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posted by WFY @ 7:01 AM | |

Phil-osophy 2006

Last night an enthusiastic Phil Grosz spoke before about 50 area Penn State fans about the 2006 football season. The Blue White Illustrated publisher is expecting great things for this edition of the Nittany Lions. Some of his main points from the evening:

• QB Anthony Morelli is scary talented and the offense has been retooled to suit his skills. A couple of coaches visited the Indy to learn the Colts offense a little bit from Jim Caldwell, the current QB coach there and a former PSU assistant. Also, don't buy into the Morelli is dumb rumors, that started because the Pittsburgh media is bitter about him changing his mind about attending Temple West Pitt and heading to Penn State instead.
  
  
• Speaking of Temple West Pitt, Grosz does not see them coming on the schedule anytime soon, especially on a home and home basis. If Temple West Pitt really wants in, they have to be willing to play Penn State at least 60% of the time in Beaver Stadium. Throughout the history of that series, Temple West Pitt had 75% of the home games. Grosz would rather see more teams like Virginia (though they won't play us anymore, must have been the "kicker power"), Alabama, Virginia Tech, etc. Maryland is a non-starter as well (d'oh!), particularly after Larry Johnson Sr. swooped down and pillaged the Free State for talent last year.
  
  
• Get used to weak non-conference schedules, everybody is doing them.
  
  
• Both Rodney Kinlaw (knee, I think) and Austin Scott (ankle) hurt, look for freshman Evan Royster (who blogs, but I cannot find his site) to get involved if his shoulder is okay. Scott's injury does not seem too serious.
  
  
• FB Brandon Snow will miss a game or two for undisclosed reasons.
  
  
• It has been widely speculated that Penn State will use a 3-4 defense this season, since State has the best and deepest linebackers in the country. That will happen, but the base defense is going to still be the 4-3. What was really interesting is that the Lions went down to Morgantown to learn about West Virginia's 3-5-3 system. Yes, a 3-5-3. What is this, 1952? Also, since when were Lions and the couchburners/bottlethrowers friends? It should be interesting to see in action.
  
  
• The Lions can play with anyone, the mental aspect of the game the biggest challenge with so many young players, particularly in the secondary.
  
  
• Sean Lee is already the 2nd best linebacker on the team.
  
  
• Special teams should be much, much better.
  
  
• By the time I had gotten to the Crystal City Sports Pub, most of the buffet was gone; great wings and meatballs though.
  
  
• Grosz says State should win 11 games this year. He denies he is exaggerating. The last time he was down, he said 8-3. That was 2004 and the less said about that season the better.

Thanks to Mary Anne and the Metro Washington D.C. Chapter of Penn State Alumni for putting this together.

Labels: Arlington, Best of WWN, PSU Football 2006

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posted by WFY @ 5:45 AM | |

Actually, the Fridge has publicly stated on more than one occasion that he is willing to play State Penn, but St. Penn continues to insist on a 2 for 1 in their favor, and this was before D Will's Daddy started playing games (dude, last year had NOTHING to do with Larry Johnson). I haven't heard any change in the stance since then.

Oh, and two of the guys MD and St. Penn went the hardest after and St. Penn won, neither one of them are happy up there (and the coaches aren't happy with them either) from what I understand and one of them may eat himself off the team before the year is over.

Fact is, no self-respecting Division 1-A school (ie. BCS school) is going to give up a 2 for 1 like St. Penn is demanding.

# posted by  Caps Nut : Wednesday, August 23, 2006 9:22:00 AM  

Q&A: Heavy Metal Parking Lot 20th Anniversary

Today is the anniversary of the 1986 Judas Priest Capital Centre concert that was immortalized in the documentary Heavy Metal Parking Lot. John Heyn and Jeff Krulik's 16 minute video of Judas Priest fans tailgating perfectly captured the heavy metal zeitgeist of the mid 80s. The documentary made the rounds at local film festivals before bootlegs made it a cult classic.

Heyn and Krulick's idea of filming teenagers tailgating before a rock concert became the PARKING LOT ODYSSEY, taking them to Harry Potter book signings, a Neil Diamond concert and even a short-lived cable series. But it all started with a two guys from PG County with some video equipment in Capital Centre parking lot. Recently, I interviewed Krulik, now a freelance/independent tv/video producer, about Heavy Metal Parking Lot. Heyn also contributed to a few answers and provided the images in this article.



Q: What was the inspiration for Heavy Metal Parking Lot? Were you guys Judas Priest fans?

A: No. Not in the least. We were into punk rock and the like. But we were never dismissive of the music, and luckily we blindly plicked the Judas Priest concert. Their music really holds up. It's classic and timeless.

Q: What parking lot were you guys in? Was it Stars and Stripes, Liberty Bell, etc.?

A: John and I have absolutely no recollection of the parking lot we started in. That's pretty cool you remember the names of those lots. They all had patriotic themes. I remember it was particularly sad to see all that was left of the Cap Centre after demolition were many of those giant poles with the parking lot names on them.

Q: How many times was Heavy Metal Parking Lot shown in public?

A: If I remember correctly, John arranged a screening at DC Space in the Fall of '86. Later that Spring I showed it at the Vinyl Event Record Convention in Silver Spring at my booth (I was a part-time record dealer) and then there were a few more showings, culminating in our opening slot at the AFI Theater at Kennedy Center in 1988 before the Chuck Berry documentary 'Hail Hail Rock and Roll.'

Q: How long did it take to put the original documentary together?

A: I think we spent about two hours, 2 1/2 hours on site at the Capital Centre. That was it. Stumbling around the parking lot. Then John took the footage and months later really came back with the goods. He's the genius architect behind it. My contribution was the equipment and the title.



Q: To the best of your knowledge, when did bootlegging really get going? Was there a point when you realized, "Hey, we were onto something?"

A: You bet. It was 1994. We had stopped showing it around these parts in 1990, again at the AFI Theater as part of our own self-curated program called the 'Don't Quit Your Day Job Film and Video Festival.' It was a gas. But we realized we couldn't force our friends to watch it anymore, and that was it. Finito. But then out of the blue John got a call from Sophia Coppola and he'll tell you what that was like...

John Heyn adds: Yeah, Sofia Coppola called me in '94 to inquire about using clips from HMPL in her TV pilot for Comedy Central called High Octane. She was a fledgling producer at the time (most knew her from her role in dad's Godfather III) She had tracked me down in Silver Spring thru the phone directory (there wasn't any internet back then).

She said she was a big fan of HMPL. She had rented it at a cult-video store in L.A. called Mondo Video. Mondo Video had been renting it and promoting it (as a bootleg) for some time; through them it was reaching an audience of L.A. scensters such as Belinda Carlisle (the Go-Gos) and Hollywood actor/director Paul Mazursky. This admonition was the first inkling that we had a west coast word-of-mouth following, including film & music cognoscenti. Through the seven degrees of separation, Sofia Coppola turned her cousin Nicholas Cage and filmmaker-husband Spike Jonze onto it. We've susequently sent them "official" copies.

Recently Sofia wrote me to request the newly-released DVD. I sent her a copy in Paris, where she's directing her latest film. She's remained a (fanatical?) fan all these years.



Not Sofia Coppola

Q: Did the success of Heavy Metal Parking Lot influence your career decisions?

A: It just re-inforced my decision that I love verite man on the street true life self-referential filmmaking. Sadly, it was almost 15 years too early for reality television, not to mention it was before the era of videos being submitted to 'film festivals.' It was doomed to cult obscurity early on.

Q: Initially, what stuck out about the Judas Priest fans? Have your views of them changed over time?

A: I loved those guys then. And I love them even more now. Those people feel like family to me. I'm most grateful that they never showed any aggression or hostility to us when we shoved our camera and microphone in their faces.

Zebraman

Q: Was there one fan or part of the evening that stuck out more than all the others?

A: I remember absolutely nothing from the day we taped. All my memories are from the video. Everyone loves the one they call Zebraman.

Q: Your Web site notes that Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford loves Heavy Metal Parking Lot? What kind of feedback have you gotten from Judas Priest fans over the years?

A: Truthfully, most hardcore Judas Priest fans and/or devoted metal fans never even heard of the video. Maybe that's different now, but for the longest time it was held close to the bosom of alternative rockers.

Q: When did Heavy Metal Parking Lot first appear in a film festival? How many has it been exhibited in?

A: I arranged a screening at the New York Underground Film Festival in 1997. Since then, I've lost count. But they're mostly regional fests and alternative microcinema type spaces.

Q: What was your favorite description of Heavy Metal Parking Lot?

A: Alona Wartofsky once wrote in a generally positive review in the Washington City Paper that 'the filmmakers don't reveal themselves to be much brighter than the subjects on screen' and I've always loved that line.

Q: Heavy Metal Parking Lot is now available on DVD (from Filmbaby). Had it been available for sale previously, or had it always been available only through bootlegs?

A: We had it on vhs for at least five years. Before that, it was the domain of the bootleggers and tape traders. Finally, John Heyn and the brilliant Todd Rohal (http://www.ghandshake.com) created the magnum opus DVD that we're currently self distributing.

Q: Twelve years after Heavy Metal Parking Lot, you returned to the Capital Centre/US Airways Arena/whatever for one last time to film Neil Diamond Parking Lot? Was the magic back? Do you feel you captured the zeitgeist like you did with Judas Priest?

A: We were happily surprised to see that the metal fans and Neil Diamond fans shared some sort of common gene: passionate devotion. They were a lot closer than the 180degree arc that I thought first existed.

Q: You even did a Harry Potter Parking Lot and a "parking lot" series on TRIO. Did any of them give you the same satisfaction as Heavy Metal Parking Lot?

A: I'D say the whole PARKING LOT ODYSSEY has been gratifying. Each excursion has its own thang going. I remember when I went to shoot Harry Potter Parking Lot I was thinking 'ugh' here we go again as I lugged my camera out of my car, but then an hour later the results seem to satisfy. The TRIO tv series would have been more satisfying if it was on a network that people could get.

Q: Please tell us about any of your other films.

A: I'm getting THE LEGEND OF MERV CONN ready for the Maryland Film Festival. There's a short trailer on my website. It's part of THE MARYLAND TRILOGY which also ran at the New York Underground Film Festival. I hope to screen that at the AFI if they'll have me back. There's really a pile of short documentaries I've cranked out over the years, most available on my website http://www.planetkrulik.com, although I got lazy after 2003, and there seems to be some recent web meltdowns so forgive if some of this stuff doesn't play at the moment. I've only been able to accomplish this output by the affordability and accessibilty of video. But it still requires a great deal of sweat equity.

Q: The first line of your obituary may contain, "...who created the cult film Heavy Metal Parking Lot." Do you think that this will be your lasting legacy? How do you feel about that?

A: I've always joked that my tombstone will say 'He Made a Lot of Films, But He Was Only Known for Heavy Metal Parking Lot.' This is a bittersweet thing. I guess you could call it our 20-year albatross, but hey, it's better to be known for something than nothing at all.

Q: Okay, probably the most asked question you get -- will you ever produce "Return to Heavy Metal Parking Lot." They are back together you know...

A: WE'd love to produce 'Return to Heavy Metal Parking Lot. We've pitched this thing over and over and over. We got close at VH1 but then they went all Celebreality and that's that. Can't say I blame them.

Q: Thank you for you time, any parting words?

A: I'VE said too much already. I'm a blabbermouth. I love the sound of my voice. I love the clickety clack of my typing.


John Heyn and Jeff Krulik

The story of Heavy Metal Parking Lot ends here...for now. We can only hope that Heavy Metal Parking: 20th Anniversary Reunion finds the backing it deserves. While we wait for that to happen, check out these sites below:

Official Site
Planet Krulik's Heavy Metal Parking Lot site
Planet Krulik
Judas Priest
Rob Halford
Buy Heavy Metal Parking Lot from Filmbaby

Labels: BeltwayLand, Best of WWN, History, Interviews, Maryland, Movies

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posted by WFY @ 5:46 AM | |

The Market

There has been quite a bit of uncertainty and maybe even debate with friends and family over the last few years over the pronunciation of our favorite downtown restaurant. In his chat today, Tom Sietsema was asked to set the story straight:

Arlington, Va.: Please settle a debate. How, precisely, do you pronounce "Les Halles"?

Thank you!

Tom Sietsema: You say: Lay-AHL (there's no "s" sound on the end)

Naturally, being a Sietsema chat, there was more discussion:

Les Halles: Wrong, wrong. It's lay-zahl. H counts as a vowel, so you slur the s into the H. Also, this is how Tony Bourdain pronounces it in the audio version of his book (he reads it himself).

Tom Sietsema: Uh oh! I should know better than to trust the person who answers the phone - at Les Halles! I don't trust my college French.

Read on, though ...

_______________________

Washington, D.C. : Actually, some regions would pronounce Les Halles "lay zahl". I have been corrected several times - it seems I never select the correct dialect for the person I'm with.

Tom Sietsema: Aha!

_______________________

Re: Les Halles: Uhh, Tom...it's LAYS-Ahl. Since you have a vowel sound begining the second word you pronounce the s in "Les"

Tom Sietsema: Then there's this!

_______________________

Les Halles: If anyone is questioning Tom's pronunciation, he is indeed correct. My grandmother was a university-level French professor, and one morning, after hearing us call it "Lez Ahl" (with the liason between the two words) she erupted with the fact that it is, indeed "LAY AHL." If I recall, the lack of liason has something to do with the name of the Paris neighborhood, which has its origins in Latin.

Tom Sietsema: Who knew that there was no right answer?

A linguist in LAY AHL: LAY AHL! No liaison.

It depends on the origin of the noun on question. Since you probably won't be researching the origins of all the French words you'll be using, you just have to memorize which nouns get liaison and which don't. For instance, you say le hockey, not l'hockey.

Tom Sietsema: Am I redeemed or what?

_______________________
Washington, D.C.: I just googled "Les Halles pronunciation" and the top 5 hits agreed with you -- for some reason in this instance you don't pronounce the "z" sound.

Tom Sietsema: This is getting murkier and murkier....

_______________________

No right answer....: How very French !

Tom Sietsema: Mais oui.

Well, that settles it...I guess.

By the way, another big thanks to Tom for treating Erica and me to Les Halles for my birthday.

Web site: Les Halles Washington D.C.

Labels: Best of WWN, Chats, Food and Drink

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posted by WFY @ 12:30 PM | |

It's pronounced "MA-ha-noy City"
regardless of what them Chendo poseurs tell you.

TWH
MofP of the WWN

# posted by  Anonymous : Thursday, May 25, 2006 3:31:00 PM  

Lerner press conference

I was able to attend the Lerner press conference at the Fairmont Hotel on M Street NW this evening. I took 25 photos of the event. You can watch the press conference and report via wusa9.com.

Since I was snapping photos, I was not able to take notes. Here is what comes off the top of my head:

"Well, it's been some kind of day."

Ted Lerner read from a prepared statement. His best line -- "I had not realized I was such a man of mystery until I read a couple of recent newspaper articles." He generally did not answer questions from the press, his son Mark and Stan Kasten, Nationals president.

He pronounces the city, "Warshington."

Mark Lerner also read from a prepared statement.

Stan Kasten spoke without notes. His three main points: player development, customer satisfaction, community relations.

When asked if they lived in the District, Ted said they paid $10 million in taxes to the city. Most other questions were answered by Mark Lerner and Stan Kasten.

Vincent Orange showed up early in the press conference, Marion Barry showed up about halfway through. Both were noted by Edward Cohen, son-in-law of Ted and a principal owner.

James Brown mentioned that grandfather was involved with the Hattiesburg Black Sox, a Mississippi baseball team that continues to this day.

I got a press kit, the releases are linked below

I met Charlie Brotman and had my photo taken with him.

Barry and Orange managed to get down to the stage quicky after the formal press conference. Barry shook Ted Lerner's hand for over a thirty seconds and was in the middle of several photos taken of all involved.

Okay, I have go to bed.

More from Marc Fisher of The Post: Two Words on the Nats' Owner: Abe Pollin

LERNER ENTERPRISES PRESS RELEASES

Washington Nationals Baseball Club, LLC Lerner Family Named New Owners of Washington Nationals

Washington
Nationals Baseball Club, LLC
The Lerner Philosophy on Ownership of the
Washington Nationals

Washington
Nationals Baseball Club, LLC
The Lerner Family Biographies
Washington
Nationals Baseball Club, LLC

About Lerner Enterprises

Washington
Nationals Baseball Club, LLC
Additional Investor Biographies

Labels: BeltwayLand, Best of WWN, Nats/MLB 2006, PSU Football 2006, The District

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posted by WFY @ 10:12 PM | |

Post a Comment

Opening Day recap

I made it to my first Opening Day in Washington. I had a great time, despite the 7-1 loss (The Post) but I don't doubt that last year's was much better. I could have gone for more pageantry. I hope to have photos up tomorrow, but it may take a few days.

"WHERE'S OUR OWNER?!" Well, that idea did not work. I tried to get the chant started in section 505, but only a few people got on board. Further up in section people tried to restart the chant, but to no avail. Oh well...

WHERE WAS CHARLIE? Charlie Brotman, the former Senators p.a. announcer was not on hand for any of the festivities. This was the first time he missed an opening day since 1956, when Eisenhower was president. Why Charlie was not involved, I cannot say. You may recall a feature story I wrote about him before last year's opening day.

The attendance at the game was announced as 40,000+, while The Post said it was a sellout of over 43,000.

Riding in on the Orange Line, we noticed two guys with Aramark badgers from different ballparks on them. I engaged them in conversation and discovered they were nomadic vendors who went where ever Aramark sent them. They had to provide their own lodging, but Aramark took care of the rest. One was in Philly last week, while other was in Denver. One said, "I work three hours a day, eight months a year and spend the rest of time on the beach."

This might be a good idea it if you ever hit a brickwall in your life. There might be a book in there somewhere, I wonder William Least-Heat Moon would approve.

The pregame stuff was mostly inflatable amusements including a moon bounce, obstacle course, and climbing wall thing. I did not partake in the moonbounce, but did enjoy the others. Fritz declined.

The following radio stations had tables set up at the "carnival" -- Magic 102 and WTEM. Not appearing, WTOP or WTWP. No MASN tables either.

I won a pizza on the WTEM prize wheel. Fritz won an advance auto parts hat.

We did not have to pass through metal detectors.

You can get nachos at Burrito Bros. on the first base side of the 300 level concourse. That is only place I could find that offered them, making the "Take me out to the nachos" t-shirts I saw a little disingenuous.

The hot dogs are either longer this year or the rolls are shorter. Apparently, in a number of places, they ran out.

The Army chorus was fantastic.

So was Placido Domingo, though I wonder if he is an American citizen yet.

The jets in the flyover looked like F-20s or some other really old fighter plane.

The fireworks leave something to be desired.

I was glad to see the Nationals wore their home whites, instead of their alternate red Sunday jerseys. I thought they might go red, since it was a special occasion, but thankfully they did not. It is very important that teams where their regular home jerseys on Opening Day and Sundays. The gimmicky stuff should be for night games.

The field looked better than at the exhibition game. Rain is good.

Nats starter Ramon Ortiz looked sharp through three, but lost it quickly. He might be better suited for long relief.

All winter long we heard GM Jim Bowden talk up the more powerful Nats offense and today we got to see it -- 3 hits! Good job Jimbo.

Since last season we also heard Bowden talk "pitching, pitching, pitching," yet the Nats do not have any. It is going to get ugly I am afraid, but at least it will almost certainly mean he is out of here.

Mets P Brian Bannister has had two excellent starts vs. Washington. Is he a pitcher to watch or does he just have the Nats number?

The Mets batting practice uniforms and hats are still awful.

I saw someone wearing a #9 Utah jersey. Somewhere in Arizona, there is a BeltwayLand transplant who just smiled upon learning that information.

I keep seeing a guy wearing a Nats jersey with this name.

The sound was not bad in 505, maybe they were right about improved acoustics.

We were sitting behind a guy from Baltimore who is a Nats fan. He says they hate Angelo$ up there too.

It is nice to see Billy Wagner have his troubles against the Nats.

That's about all I can think of now. Here are a couple of articles:

Thousands spring for Nationals game - The Wash. Times

---

Mets' Rookie Frustrates Nats in Opener - The Post
VP Dick Cheney (Yale '63 dropout) was booed, before, during and after he threw his ceremonial first pitch in the dirt.

Labels: Best of WWN, I Was There, Metro, Nats/MLB 2006, Transportation

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posted by WFY @ 8:46 PM | |

The "where's our owner?" cheer didn't catch on in 541 either. Not that there was much to cheer about, but the crowd seemed pretty dead. I recall more ceremonial bunting for last year's Opening Day, but maybe I'm just imagining things. This year, the bunting looked sort of dingy and ratty. (WFY likes traditional unis on Sundays and Opening Day, I like bunting.)

I noticed the banner ad in the RFK Metro station for DirecTV, pointing out that Comcast only gets 40 games, compared to 162 games -- finally, some anti-Comcast marketing. (There were a few banners at the game mocking "C. Montgomery Angelos," which I found funny.)

I was happy to pass through the gates quickly, but the more I think about it, the more troubling it was that there wasn't really any security for the vice president. I mean, the guy looked in my camera bag, saw something metalic, and said, "Okay, come on through." What's the point of that?

# posted by  dl004d : Tuesday, April 11, 2006 9:07:00 PM  

I think I had more bunting on the Opening Day and Home Opener posts than RFK did yesterday. Bunting is good, it needs to be out for Opening Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, July 4, and Labor Day.

I too was surprised how lax security was it was just like going to a regular game.

# posted by  WFY : Wednesday, April 12, 2006 8:44:00 AM  

Q & A: The Great Society Subway

Last month Metroblogging DC mentioned that a