Brad Pitt Has Your Secret Shit: Rolling DC

So is it just me or does nobody care about the Nationals in this town? I went to a game and there were less than 12,000 people there. Afterwards my friends asked a lady if there were any bars around and she went on a rant about how that whole area was awful and worthless, and that the supposed waterfront regeneration lacked urban planning and was a gigantic waste of money. She was really passionate about it.

^ all true

Plus the Nationals are not good, the stadium was poorly designed and is bland looking, its much more expensive ticket-wise than Baltimore, the best seats have been bought up at over-inflated prices by lobbyists who often don't use them (and the seats sit empty). Another little thing--in Baltimore you can bring in food; and also sealed beverages in plastic containers. At Nationals Park you can't bring in food, and you can only bring in a sealed bottle of water (my kid had to chug or dump his bottle of gatorade bought near the stadium).

When Strasburg was pitching once, many folks left after he came out of the game. Much of the big crowd was there just for the novelty of seeing him pitch. Also, the Nationals ownership is cheap and hit up the city for all kinds of expenses, but they rarely do anything for the city community relations-wise.

Woah, you're right about Baltimore. The tickets are significantly cheaper. I got the $10 left side tickets and the seats weren't bad, but it was also the first MLB game I've been to since the Braves played at Fulton-County so I probably would have been impressed with anything.

It's a shame because there's something depressing about watching them on TV and seeing the stadium only a quarter full.

the stadium was poorly designed and is bland looking

I disagree - I think the stadium is well designed and bland looking.

And actually the DC waterfront urban planning hasn't been too bad with the exception of the stadium - it's the rest of the development that's going to make it a successful urban area, not the stadium itself.

Nats Park is fun! I went like 10 times last year but only like 6 this year, and the only time I've ever paid more than $10 is when I went to see Strasburg's first game (I paid $18 there, it was worth it). I generally end up getting the $5 walkup seats and spend more money on a half-smoke from the Ben's stand than I did for the ticket.

I don't really care about the Nationals, but it's cheap enough that if you just like baseball generally, you can go burn a night (or a Sunday afternoon) watching it without feeling like you're wasting money. I lived near AT&T Park in San Francisco for a year, which is obviously way way nicer, but also was a park I never got into for less than like $35.

yeah, i'll never forgive the construction of the stadium re: demolition/whitewashing of surrounding area and killing dc nightlife.

I posted this re the Sunday W. Post Arts section over on the ILM Capital Swamp thread re another DC waterfront area (my focus is on the sidebar articles about the SW waterfront area and not Arena Stage itself):

So the whole Wash. Post arts section today is about the new Arena Stage in SW. There is also a side-piece re planned SW development. I know it is a big deal architecturally. Noticeably absent to me: any mention of Zanzibar OTW, or Hogates/H2O in any of the sidebars. As much as I dislike how those places were and are managed, the arts they have presented (i.e., Latin, Caribbean, African, RnB, Go-go) are as worthy as uh, Arena's upcoming revival of "Oklahoma."

― curmudgeon, Sunday, September 26, 2010 3:45 PM (2 days ago

http://dcist.com/2010/09/rendering_of_potential_hotel_at_800.php

Is this huge hotel really going to be built at 9th & U?

only if the 13th & U hotel project really starts moving

gah, josh adler of lakritz-adler is my old landlord/roommate, did some office it work for them as well.

What happened at Dupont Circle/P last night? The area around Pizza Parad1so was cordoned off for about 2 hours at least, with a huge police presence.

I figured people liked the idea of bringing back streetcars as they are supposedly cheaper than subway lines, but there seems to be a backlash against them in both DC and Arlington(proposed Colombia Pike route). Would better bus service really be better as some have suggested? I don't know much about this, just putting the question out there.

Autobots and Decepticons -- and the people who fight them -- will take over the District next week as filming for "Transformers 3," starring Shia LaBeouf, moves into the streets Oct. 11-15

Other celebrities who have signed on for the flick include Hugo Weaving as Megatron and Josh Duhamel returning for his third turn as Maj. William Lennox and Tyrese Gibson as Chief Master Sgt. Robert Epps. No word yet on who may be in town for the filming.

More specific details on street closures

I'll be in town for a gig on the 12th, so I might wander around and see what's up. It'll be like I'M in Transformers 3!

I believe it is time that the DC thread extend a warm welcome to soon-to-be-dcer BIG HOOS AKA THE STEENDRIVER!!!!!!!!

To what does DC owe the pleasure of scoring a HOOS?

He said elsewhere that's he's coming in a few weeks (but not why), so I guess he's not starring in Transformers 3.

hey guys

I actually am starring in Transformers 3. Spent my whole steendriving life preparing for it.

An old friend is setting me up with a job opportunity, and I realized that for the first time in my life I don't have anything really tying me down in Texas anymore, so I'm due for a fuckin change of scenery. It's all happened really fast. On Friday I thought "well what if...?" Today I bought the one way plane ticket that gets me there the 27th.

I'm not gonna have a car for the first time since I got my license, so that's gonna be interesting.

Transportation is okay, though there are some dead zones.

I'll most likely be living/working in Falls Church and my office will be a hair under a mile from the Dunn-Loring metro stop I think.

My man up there tells me I might have a hard time in FC w/o a vehicle, but I'm gonna do my best to make it work. I should probably learn to ride a bike.

I am soon to begin applying for jobs in that area, having avoided doing so for that very reason.

The relative dead zone of FC?

well that's not where I was talking about, but yeah. I'm sure there are plentiful busses though.

Ah yes

So yeah me and the bro are gonna get a place together and he's basically insisted I "leave it to him" which has me kinda worried since I'm gonna roll in wardrobe/laptop in hand hoping to have living arrangements set. I'm trying to stay in touch with him about it, but it's all through night phone calls what with his office hours.

Flying into bmore on the 27th so, here we go and shit

no way?! welcome to dc HOOS! awesome.

woah! so soon!!!

yep

this all went down super duper fast

your timing is impeccable! my schedule becomes much more manageable after the 23rd!

haha dope.

Dang...welcome to DC! I keep suggesting we go out to Falls Church for Vietnamese at Four Sisters or the like...watch this space?

yeah like

i will need help figuring out the culturally cool shit and whatnot plz be my guides

crystal thai y'all

also the peking duck place

Many choices in Eden Center or Hong Kong Palace (Sichuan Chinese) nearby or Present on Rt. 50. There's also Ethiopian restaurant Meaza on Columbia Pike just off of Rt. 7 plus several other Ethiopian ones in the Bailey's X-Rds portion of Falls Church on George Mason.

HOOS you will not have a problem without a car--several dcilxors are car-free (see: I DIED, daria-g, TOMBOT [RIP]). Zipcar always an option if you need temporary wheels.

I will be out-o-town when you first arrive, but back on Nov. 3. Pencil me in, yo!

Did anyone else hear Marion Barry on Kojo's WAMU radio show last week? It was classic.

commentary on Washington Post's Tom Sietsema's dining guide

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/youngandhungry/2010/10/15/dissecting-tom-sietsemas-2010-dining-guide/

the DC9 incident is mentioned over on Capital Swamp on ilm btw

gavin holland just announced running for district 1A11 advisory neighborhood commissioner in columbia heights. is there/has there been anyone with nightlife interests in that kind of position before (versus people that just try to close things)

officially have the job!!

^^ this is HOOS btw

what kind of job does a HOOS have and does it involve delicious free cookies y/n

Then early Saturday morning, this news out of Georgetown University in the heart of Washington: Police discovered a suspected meth lab inside a freshman residence hall and evacuated the building. Later in the afternoon, officials said the drug being produced in the dorm was actually Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a hallucinogen.

hoya saxa

I was on campus for most of the day and didn't even know about this! Although I spent all morning in the hospital way on the other side of campus and then most of the afternoon taking a nap in my car. Still, so exciting!

I'M IN THE BUILDIN