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Gary Tischler • September 17, 2012

It was “Rediscover Adams Morgan Day” Sept. 9 at the annual Adams Morgan Day Festival, a flavorsome yearly celebration of what is arguably Washington’s most diverse neighborhood.

With the end of the construction torture of the successful streetscape project, things looked spiffier. From noon until early evening, the considerably wider-seeming and tidier streetscape of 18th Street was packed with vendors, visitors and venues, celebrating the neighborhood’s ethnic food, music, commercial, business and art flavors Chicken, heavily flavored with Latin American ingredients, Asian and African cuisines, cold drinks and spicy rice and tacos, and vegan and vegetarian offerings drew long lines all day, while stages at Columbia Road and 18th Street as well as Florida Avenue and 18th Street offered the music of the world, from the Travao Samba Band to the Mariachi Aquila ensemble, it was samba and salsa. There was jazz and blues, there along with the Sligo Creek Stompers.

The music reflected the offerings on the street—from Columbia Station to the rich and eclectic performers that hit Madam’s Organ, and further out, made it to Ike’s Mambo Room on Columbia Road, which on this day, was packed. The neighborhood’s restaurants boomed, some of them very tuned into what turned out to be a victorious Redskins game. There were sports bars, Irish bars, Ethiopian and Hispanic and African restaurants, French restaurants and Asian and sushi bars all along the curbstone.

If you hit Belmont Street, you could walk smack into a rich and diverse art fair reflective of the city’s creative scene, from photography, to hats, to loud painting, to crafts of all sorts. Near a karaoke bar, which has been become karaoke corner over the last few festivals, a young white kid sang a surprisingly soulful version of “I Will Survive,” as if — instead of being under the blue skies of this surprisingly fall-like balmy day — he were standing emoting under a glowing disco ball. Folks cheered, danced and swayed to the music, although not to the few ladies who made the intemperate choice of trying to hit the high notes of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”

The festival drew folks from all over the city and was reflective of the city’s changing demographics and its most recent baby booms. Baby strollers, full of overwhelming cuteness in their passengers, dominated the streets as much as teens from the surrounding neighborhoods. Here and there were politicians—Ward One Councilman Jim Graham resplendent in sunglasses and bow tie held forth—while local banks, real estate companies and business plied their wares. If you lived here, you ran into your checkout clerk at Safeway, your bank teller, your bartender, your local retired legal sage, your dogwalker or your advisory neighborhood commissioner.

It was one of those Sundays perfect for a festival—no rain, blue skies, clouds that looked more like paintings than the real thing, mothers wiping dessert off baby faces, dogs plaintively fighting weariness with the excitement of hundreds of food smells, making them dizzy. Old guys and new kids danced to whatever music was available.

It was the kind of scene that was attractively urban and benignly happy—no menace, no politics, no incidents, just blue skies, nothing but blue skies, rippling with nothing but Sunday and salsa. If you lived here, it was like old times and new times at once. The air was full of new babies, new stuff and stores, the consideration of the idea that happy times could be here again in spite of what you might be hearing during an election year.

Georgetowner •

It’s been 11 years since the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the United States. Eleven years, two wars—ended more or less in Iraq, scheduled to end in Afghanistan next year—with thousands of American troops dying and suffering horrible wounds in both wars.

Eleven years since a blue-sky, unclouded Tuesday morning when hijacked jets brought down the twin towers in New York, crashed into the Pentagon and on a lonely field in Pennsylvania. Life has not returned to anything as it was before—wars ensued, fear ensued, Homeland Security ensued, the shifting enemy continued to wreak destruction even as American military efforts thinned its ranks. Osama Bin Laden, the planner and perpetrator of the attacks himself, was killed in a Navy SEAL raid in May 2011. Presidents come and go, but the memory of that day is no less vivid to those who experienced it, who were in the dust of New York City that day, who watched it all on television.

Literature has never managed to capture that day or its results, neither have paintings or poems, it is as if the subject is too full of potent knowledge and facts in the age of the internet to become art. It shifts in the mind, the losses still there, the memorializing going on apace, but the memory changing all the while, like some grief that cannot be assuaged and cannot be totally known.

But every year we remember. On this September 11th—likely to be uncloudy, blue and perfect fall-like, just like that day, we remember in this way:

A national day of service and remembrance, in which volunteers work on projects, emergency preparedness training, in an event hosted by Serve DC. At Freedom Plaza, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., with speakers and artists present.

There will be a special and private commemoration at the Pentagon Memorial, commemorating the victims of American Airline Flight 77, which was crashed into the Pentagon resulting in the lives of all those aboard and workers at the Pentagon, totaling 184 victims.

There will be a wreath-laying ceremony honoring victims of 9/11 and military fallen at the U.S. Navy Memorial led by members of the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 2002.

There will be a moment of silence at Arlington National Cemetery at 9:37 a.m. to remember the Pentagon victims.

There will be regularly scheduled prayer services at National Cathedral, including a choral service in the evening.

A number of other scheduled commemorative events have already been held, including a 9/11 Unity Walk and the Freedom Walk, Operation Homefront.
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Robert Devaney • September 13, 2012

After being honored by the community six days before, Timothy Downs died peacefully at his home on Aug. 22.

Born in Detroit, Mich., on April 26, 1942, Downs graduated from Wayne State University and Wayne State Law School. He practiced law in Detroit with Craig, Farber and Downs. Soon after moving to the Washington, D.C., area in 1988, he retired from law practice but continued to work nationally on many election contests, including the 2000 recount in Florida. He was active in the Georgetown community, most recently for his efforts on safety concerning the O and P Streets Rehabilitation Project, where historic trolley tracks and streets stones have been refitted and replaced, along with street lamps and other curb work. Downs regularly checked on the project on the west side of Georgetown; work was completed in front of his house. He was almost known as an avid tennis player.

“Tim was a dedicated man who truly cared about his community,” said Jeff Jones, an advisory neighborhood commissioner for Downs’s district. “I found his conversations very engaging, and I enjoyed every minute I was able to spend with him. He will always be an inspiration to me.” Said another ANC member Ed Solomon: “I will miss my friend. Tim was a voice of reason on many issues in Georgetown. I sought his advice and valued his judgement.”

Downs leaves his wife, Barbara; his son, Justin Downs of Brooklyn, N.Y.; three sisters, Elizabeth Collins of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Katherine Downs of Pinckney, Mich., and Sarah Downs of Orlando, Fla., as well as many devoted friends and admirers. A memorial service will be held at Dumbarton House on Sept 16; time yet to be determined.

See Georgetowner story on the Aug. 16 gathering

Robert Devaney •

Georgetown is preparing for its big Fashion Night Out on Sept. 6, as stores open, re-open or show off their best.

Suitsupply near the Four Seasons Hotel at 2828 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., opens today at the corner of M and 29th Streets with a grand-opening party, beginning 6 p.m. The Amsterdam-headquartered men’s clothing company combines nicely priced suits (affordable and custom) with high-end service, such as in-store tailors. The company proved itself “qualified and equipped” as it outfitted the Dutch Olympic team for the London Games. Check out the smartly and cleanly arranged retail space — www.SuitSupply.com.

Formerly located at the western corner of Georgetown Park near Dean & Deluca, Intermix has moved its business to 3300 M Street, just half a block away. That corner had been occupied for about 10 years by Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers which closed June 9. It is across the street from Georgetown Cupcake. The hip women’s retailer Intermix now has a larger space to display its up-to-the-minute fashions — IntermixOnline.com. [gallery ids="100956,130699,130696" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner •

“Rock Your Red Heels” Author Book Signing Reception

September 7th, 2012 at 12:00 PM | Free | srunke@pixelentertainment.com | Tel: 502.541.5740 | Event Website

Barnes & Noble Union Station invites you to join Anne Browning Walker, debut DC author of the new contemporary romance novel The Booby Trap, and “Rock Your Red Heels”at this Book Signing Reception. Have your copy of this new work signed by the author, as you mix, mingle, and enjoy the afternoon.

Address

Barnes & Noble Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC 20002

Making Strides for MS Soirée 2012

September 8th, 2012 at 08:00 AM | $65-$175 | MakingStrides@MSandYOU.org | Tel: 202-296-5363 | Event Website](http://www.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/dcw/volunteer/making-strides/index.aspx)

Join Making Strides for MS, the young professionals’ volunteer committee of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s National Capital Chapter, in your cocktail attire for an upscale night of dancing, enjoying food and drinks, and bidding on spectacular gift packages in a D.C. neighborhood-themed silent auction. All proceeds from the Making Strides Soirée will benefit people living with MS in our community and help fund research to find a cure for MS.

Address

Historic Eastern Market North Hall, 225 7th Street Southeast, Washington, D.C. 20003

Food for FED

September 10th, 2012 at 12:00 PM | $20 advance/$25 door | jkarlsruher@epiphanyproductions.com | Tel: 703-683-7500 | [Event Website](http://www.duchennemd.org/)

The Foundation to Eradicate Duchenne (FED) is hosting the inaugural Food for FED at Eastern Market to benefit Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a fatal genetic disease. Food for FED Food is a culinary foodie festival featuring: restaurants, breweries, and caterers offering free samples and selling products; cooking demonstrations; music; a silent auction; and other interesting booths.

Address

Eastern Market, 225 7th Street SE, Washington, DC 20003

Public Talk with artist Nina Katchadourian

September 10th, 2012 at 06:30 PM | free and open to the public | info@wpadc.org | Tel: 202-234-7103 | Event Website](http://wpadc.org/)

Washington Project for the Arts presents a public lecture with artist Nina Katchadourian, coinciding with “Monument to the Unelected,” her politically timely art piece installed in the street level windows of the Washington Post from September 10 – November 16.

Address

Street level windows of The Washington Post 1150 15th St NW, Washington, DC

9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance

September 11th, 2012 at 11:30 AM | carly.skidmore@dc.gov | Tel: 2027242229 | Event Website](http://serve.dc.gov/)

Join Serve DC & HandsOn Greater DC Cares and hundreds of volunteers on Tuesday September 11, 2011 in downtown Washington, DC for the National Day of Service. The event includes food truck vendors, a community outreach fair, mini service projects, and remarks by local and national leaders.

Address

Freedom Plaza, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington DC 20001

Author of Whistleblower’s Handbook to Speak in DC at West End Library

September 11th, 2012 at 07:00 PM | 0 | contact@whistleblowers.org | Tel: 202-342-1903 | Event Website](http://www.whistleblowers.org/)

On September 12, 2012, one of the nation’s leading experts in whistleblower protection law, Stephen M. Kohn, will share a wealth of knowledge from his recently released book, The Whistleblower’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing What’s Right and Protecting Yourself (Lyons Press, 2011). The West End Library in Washington, DC, will host the author talk and book signing from 7:00pm to 9:00. This event is free and open to the public.

Address

1101 24th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037

The 34th Annual Ambassadors Ball to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society

September 12th, 2012 at 06:30 PM | $500 | AmbassadorsBall@MSandYou.org | Tel: (202) 296-5363, option 2 | Event Website](http://www.msandyou.org/Ball/)

The Ambassadors Ball raises vital funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The black tie gala hosts members of the Washington Diplomatic Corps, Congressional leaders, and a variety of distinguished guests who enjoy a unique silent auction, a delicious dinner, and a night of dancing. The Ambassadors Ball has raised over $16 million for the Society’s movement toward a world free of MS.

To purchase a table or tickets please call (202) 296-5363,or email katie.makris@nmss.org.

Address

The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C., 1150 22nd Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037

Helping Children Soar Benefit

September 13th, 2012 at 06:00 PM | Tickets $250; sponsorship $1,000 | jgelin@childrenslawcenter.org | Tel: 202-467-4900 ext. 571 | [Event Website](http://www.childrenslawcenter.org/benefit)

As children head back to school, Children’s Law Center heads back to the Kennedy Center Roof Terrace Restaurant for their annual Helping Children Soar Benefit. This year’s Benefit highlights CLC’s work to ensure educational access and honors key partners who join in the effort. Visit www.childrenslawcenter.org/benefit for more.

Address

Kennedy Center Roof Terrace Restaurant, 2700 F Street NW, Washington DC

Georgetowner •

Without a cloud in the sky, this year’s Fashion’s Night Out is sure to be a success and dry. The Georgetowner has selected a few hot spots for tonight’s festivites. So, make sure to shop by your favorite store and to see more, visit FNO GeorgetownDC.com for more events and happenings tonight!

Streets Of Georgetown

1254 Wiscon Ave. NW

Gentlemen’s Man Cave

Gentlemen, are you being dragged out for Fashion Night Out Escape the craziness and madness of the night and hang out with us at Streets Of Georgetown. for $25, which will be donated to The Greater Washington Sports Alliance from 7-10PM. You’ll get complimentary bites, beer and a 30% discount on ALL purchases.

BCBG

3210 M Street, NW

SHOP. STYLE. WIN. In honor of Fashion’s Night Out, BCBGMAXAZRIA is stylin’ out on Instagram! Visit one of our BCBGMAXAZRIA stores, and get styled all night long! You’ll be dripping in BCBGMAXAZRIA from head to toe. Post your styled-out look on Instagram #BCBGFNO to compete for a chance to win an amazing $1000 BCBGMAXAZRIA Wardrobe.

CUSP

3030 M Street, NW

DC Scout is hosting an FNO party at CUSP Georgetown featuring music, refreshments & a chance to win a $500 CUSP gift card & a styling session with Meredith Liberty RSVP 6-9pm http://postfun.washingtonpost.com/node/1215

HOUSE OF KAS Grand Opening

“A Night of Elegance” by House of KAS. Come and get the most stylish and unique garments for men and women. 7pm

MOCA DC Art Gallery

1054 31st St NW

MOCA DC Art Gallery, located in Canal Square directly opposite the Sea Catch restaurant, is hosting a fashion show featuring American Made, a fashion forward, socially aware brand that embraces the creativity and pride of the American spirit in their custom made denim designs

Urban Chic

1626 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Shop/Sketch/Style. Shop: Rebecca Minkoff trunk show, 15% off, Free gift with purchase. Plus, with any $250+ purchase, artist Inslee Haynes will do a custom illustration of customer wearing their new purchase.Easel Hair Studio hosting an in store beach waves bar to style customers who make a small donation to Habitat for Humanity. Gab with the girls from Bitches Who Brunch, Becca Loveridge and Cori Sue Morris. They will also be selling the signature FNO Georgetown shirts and totes benefitting Vital Voices. Meet fashion bloggers The Bitches Who Brunch. 6-11pm

Nectar Skin Bar

1633 Wisconsin Ave, NW

“Feels like Fall, Fashion, and Fresh Beauty” Partnering with IPSA to present Oribe dry blowouts, a lipstick bar with products from Kevin Aucoin, Becca cosmetics and Paul and Joe Beaute, quick polish changes and other signature offerings to add to your individualized look!
Roche Salon

3000 K St NW (Washington Harbour)

Roche Salon’s 25th anniversary Grand Relaunch Party with live music, appetizers, and drinks, 7pm. And the Georgetown BID wants to thank Eya and Roche Salon for the models that will be featured at our private VIP party who will be dressed in fashions by Eya Kereselidze fashions and hair by Roche Salon.

Dean & DeLuca

3267 M Street, NW

Entertain and be entertained as BrightestYoungThings brings a slice of their ever-creative fun to the Dean & DeLuca patio lounge (3276 M St) from 7:30-11pm, fresh with ESL Music and Fatback DJs spinning all night

Luke’s Lobster

1211 Potomac Street, NW

Free tote bag with every roll purchase. One bag per order.

Puro Cafe

1529 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Enjoy cocktails and a $5 makeover by celebrity make up artist Anna Castillo. 7-9pm. Session includes beauty tips & photos by celebrity photographer Gedalia Vera – before and after.

Darrell Dean Antiques

1524 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

“Pittura Metafisca” – live models in vignettes featuring high end design objects, fine art & antiques. Inspired by Japenese 80s Couture. Feautring fashion from Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake couture collection. 7pm

Design Within Reach

3307 Cady’s Alley, NW

Where modern meets fashion. Stop in to explore our wide assortment of classic and iconic textiles from Maharam and learn a little about classic mid-century modern style while enjoying hors d’oeuvres and sipping wine. It’s also the first night of the Dining Sale, so test-drive some elegant entertaining solutions. Be sure to stop by DWR during this special night out on the town.5:30-9pm

P&C Art

3108 M Street, NW

“OLD HOLLYWOOD,” featuring the “fashionable” art of John Stango, film screening & art prizes. 6-9:30pm

Gary Tischler •

The day after the first man to walk on the moon passed away at the age of 82, nothing much had changed at the Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. The Command Module Columbia, which carried astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the moon and back could easily be spotted among the flying machines, missiles, rockets and other modules that greet you as you enter the museum.

To the left and at the east end of the hall was a display which included an identical version of the Lunar Module Eagle which Armstrong calmly and expertly maneuvered to a safe landing after the original mapped landing spot had been overshot. Here, you can see an idea of the surface of the moon, two astronauts in white suits and visored, descending to the dusty lunar surface.

It was the end of summer, and sporadic storms and black clouds sped across the sky over the mall. The museum was busy—it contains, after all, everything you want to know about air and flight, wings and space and Apollo 11 and Sputnik and the space race. But there was on this quiet season-ending day in which people fussed and whispered about a hurricane heading for Tampa and the Republican National Convention, not much here to tell you that a unique man had passed from earthly life, except for the presence of Columbia and the moon landing exhibit which are here every day. No trumpets sounded, and no floral wreaths were laid.

People did hover around Columbia and peeked into the impossibly cramped quarters through the glass, and families gathered around the moon exhibit. Every now and then, groups of three or four, usually young men, or fathers and grandfathers, stood by, peering at an 11-minute movie on the flight of Apollo 11, a movie every bit as riveting as the much more expensive ones about the Transformer wars.

A docent offered up information on the moon flight. People came and went, stood and gawked, older persons explaining to younger one. “Did that thing go to Mars?” asked a five-year-old. “No, son, it went to the moon.”

Neil Armstrong went to the moon, and said words enshrined in schools, in national memory, although to his dying day, he did insist that he might have somehow misspoken or been misheard. “That’s one step for man, a giant leap for mankind” is what everyone thought they heard. Armstrong said he had intended to say “one step for a man,” but apparently he had not. The difference is, of course, how Armstrong saw himself in the scheme of things. That momentous step was the climax to an ambitious, inspired American push to space flight and to the moon, sparked by a Soviet Sputnik leapfrog ahead of the U.S.. The space race was one of the by-products of that early Russian success, which included putting men and a dog into space, but the result was entirely America at its best.

The quiet Sunday would have been appreciated by Armstrong, who was one of those men who hated the spotlight for its own sake. It is not that he was taciturn or had nothing to say: obviously he said just the right things in the right tone. He simply did not like the idea of being a hero, a hero figure and its present dilution, the celebrity. It’s fair to say that he could have entered politics and succeeded, as did fellow astronaut and Buckeye John Glenn, who did not get to the moon, but managed to become, late in life, the oldest man in space. Nor was he so quiet that he resembled President Calvin Coolidge. Armstrong had a smile that could brighten up dark spaces, as he showed from an in-flight photo and, in another, the exuberance he displayed with his family, the object of adulation and a ticker tape parade.

He was by profession an engineer who lived and loved to fly—he flew for the first time with the help of his father at the age of 16 near the farming town of Wapakoneta, Ohio, when he skipped school and went with his dad to go up in a Ford Trimotor prop lane. He had a pilot’s license at the age of 16; you could guess where his life might head.

Armstrong who flew combat jets in Korea, became the first civilian to become a part of the second group of men selected to be NASA astronauts for the U.S. space effort. He was a brilliant engineer and a cool customer at the control of space crafts. Listening to his voice on the tape of the landing—the module was running out of fuel (30 seconds left)—is as exciting as any contemporary thriller. The voice is steady, rolling off time and numbers, the presence of dust, and the simple “Houston, Tranquility base here.” “The Eagle has landed.” There was no way we could tell that his heart and pulse were running as fast as a rabbit, although his heart rate was recorded at 150.

Every bit of that flight was dangerous and its success a triumph of technology, stout hearts, talent and a nation’s willingness to put enormous resources into the effort. It happened on July, 20, 1969, a turbulent time of dissent and discontent in America with an unpopular war raging. Richard Nixon was president, as John F. Kennedy’s inspiration and dream for the moon flight became a reality.

Thereafter, Armstrong said he would not fly again. There was a biography, some rare interviews, but he entered into a successful, and for the most part, contented life, becoming a teacher and then a consultant or board member for various businesses, which had an engineering connection. As someone in some imagined future might say, “lived well and prospered.” Like all the astronauts—Sally Ride, the first woman to go into space who passed away recently comes to mind — Armstrong stayed in the mind and memory, and because his were the first, perfectly-fit human steps on the moon, the name lasted longer, even if it became hard to conjure up the image of his face.

He lived a life—early in his first marriage, he lost a two-year old daughter, and he had other children and many grandchildren and married twice.

Chris Cutrofello of Alexandria, Va., and his friend Cara Treglio of Greenbelt, Md., seemed to capture the feeling of those who remembered, even though neither was alive when Armstrong made such a history.

Treglio had placed a small, yellow flower on top of the information display block for the Columbia module. “I don’t know,” she said. “I wanted to bring a bouquet. I just thought we should come and show our respect for him today.” Cutrofello said, “I’m not sad. Usually, you know, when somebody dies, you’re sad for them, and for their families, but not in his case. I didn’t know him. I wasn’t alive then. But, hey, look at him. He made me think of what a hero should be. He was a hero for us and the rest of the world. And he had a wonderful life.”

“I mean, come on,” he continued. “The guy WALKED on the moon.” [gallery ids="100955,130687" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney •

Workmen were seen at O and Potomac Streets pressing down the last stones for the O and P Street Rehabilitation Project which began two years ago this September. A closing ceremony is set for mid-September to celebrate the completion of the work, which inconvenienced residents of O and P Streets for a time. The project closed streets and sidewalks, caused dust and noise and took away parking spaces. All of this is nearly over.

O Street and P Street, west of Wisconsin Avenue to 35th Street, are the last spots in Washington when trolley tracks can be seen. This tracks and street stones have been refitted or replaced, along with street lamps and other curb work. The decision was made to preserve the streets as they were to maintain the historic look of Georgetown. Sett stones were used instead of the original cobble stones which had moved or drifted along the surface of the street, making driving difficult for some.

There is just a bit more to do. Here are questions and answers from the project’s website — FixingOandPStreets.com — about the remaining work:

What is the blue-gray dust left on the roadway? Does it serve a purpose?

The blue-gray dust material left on the roadway does indeed serve a purpose. This dust continues the process of filling the gaps between pavers, as the initial filling settles. In this final stage, the dust is repeatedly swept over the area, wet down and swept over again after it dries. This material will be swept off the roadway once it is determined that gaps have been adequately filled. This process also applies to the brick sidewalks.

How about the grout for pavers and the rails?

The area between the rail track and the granite pavers must be filled in with an elastomeric grout. (See rendering below.) This is needed due to how each of these very different materials behaves under various weather conditions and other physical processes. Temperature and moisture greatly impact how the grout pours and cures. Ideally, the temperature should be between 70 degrees and 80 degrees, with no rain for 12 to 24 hours. Areas of the project already open to traffic may experience temporary closures to allow for grouting when the weather allows for these conditions.

How about new street lights?

As part of the O&P Street Rehabilitation Project, street lights within the project zone are being updated or, in many cases, added. In response to public concern for safety, the finalized lighting plan increases current lighting by 40 percent while still preserving the historic feel of the area. You may notice a new light fixture or foundation for a new light fixture near an existing light. In many cases, the existing light will be removed at a later time. Many of the new foundations are covered with orange drums. These drums are in place for pedestrian safety and will be removed once the light poles are installed. Once the new light has been installed and is operational, should the brightness of the light interfere with your evening routine, please contact us. DDOT will send a team to evaluate the light and will be able to make recommendations on how to lessen the impact to your home. Different options could include a shade or adjusting the wattage. Please keep in mind that there could be unusual brightness the first night or two once the new lights are turned on. Per DDOT’s policy, any existing street lights designated for removal will stay turned on until we verify all of the new lights are fully operational. Once they are deemed as such, the existing lights designated for removal will be turned off.

Georgetowner • September 6, 2012

Celebrate Pattern with FLOR and Annie Elliott

August 30th, 2012 at 06:00 PM | Free | events@­flor.­com | Tel: (202) 944.5057 | Event Website

FLOR, creator of inspired modular floorcovering, has been busy opening stores in hip, design-oriented neighborhoods across the U.S. Now they’re hitting the streets, discovering the innovative work of independent designers and their unique interpretation of patterns. They uncovered a variety of perspectives and material and before long, started seeing pattern everywhere. Join FLOR in Georgetown to meet local interior designer, Annie Elliott and other members of her team at “bossy color”. Learn about their work and share some sips and sweets with other pattern design enthusiasts.

Address

1037 33rd St NW, Washington, DC

Bank of America’s Museums on Us

September 1st, 2012 at 11:00 AM | Event Website

Celebrate Labor Day weekend with Bank of America’s Museums on Us and enjoy free access to two Washington D.C. museums: National Museum of Women in the Arts and The Phillips Collection.

Museums on Us is a national program and includes more than 150 leading U.S. cultural institutions across 91 cities, benefiting Bank of America and Merrill Lynch customers from coast to coast. Photo ID and a valid Bank of America/Merrill Lynch credit or debit card must be presented. One free general admission limited to cardholder at participating institution, excluding fundraising events, special exhibitions and ticketed shows the first full weekend (Saturday and Sunday) of each month. Not to be combined with other offers.

Address

1600 21st St NW, Washington, DC 20009

DMV Dance Fitness Festival 2012

September 2nd, 2012 at 12:00 PM | Tel: 3013189379 | Event Website

Welcome to the first annual “DMV Dance Fitness Festival 2012” in the nation’s capital on Sunday, September 2, 2012 from noon to 5:00pm.

The Festival will feature a main stage with special presentation, music, artist performance (TBD) & more.
The event will be cover by different Medias, as UNIVISION, TELEFUTURA & local radio stations.

“DMV Dance Fitness Festival 2012” presents a unique opportunity for all small businesses and large corporations, as well as government agencies and non-profit groups to reach out to the community in the Washington metropolitan.

The Festival is FREE to the public and Family oriented.

Address

140 L St SE, Washington, DC 20003 (10 Water Street Southeast Washington, DC 20003)

Team In Training Sports Meeting

September 5th, 2012 at 07:00 PM | FREE | Tel: (703) 399-2942 | Event Website

Are you ready to make a difference in the fight against cancer? Then train with the best sports team in town; we’d love to have you! Our free information session is open to the public and is happening in Washington, DC! We will be at the Woolly Mammoth Theater Company on September 5th at 7:00pm to discuss our upcoming races, registration, and training tips. It’s guaranteed to be a great time. Interested yet? Go to our website or find us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/TNTNCA. See you there!

Address

641 D St NW, Washington, DC 20004 (Woolly Mammoth Theater Company)

Fashion’s Night Out- Georgetown

September 6th, 2012 at 06:00 PM | events@georgetowndc.com | Tel: 202.298.9222 | Event Website

FNO Georgetown will be DC’s most monumental fashion bash of the year, featuring exciting events at over 100 stores, restaurants and salons. FNO Georgetown is presented by the Georgetown Business Improvement District and made BizBasH’s 2011 list of Washington’s Top 100 Events. We’re proud to bring this exciting global event to DC!

Address

Georgetown, Washington DC 20007

Heels & Wheels

September 5th, 2012 at 05:30 PM | $20 for Members $35 for Non-members Event Website

A FUN event to educate and connect women and men, while learning about car safety, maintenance and purchasing. Please join Duke Street Speedy Lube for an automotive educational event. Enjoy BBQ from Mango Mike while visiting with our event sponsors for additional automotive information, games and fun activities, including a NASCAR simulator and racecar.

Address

4510-4580 Duke St, Alexandria, VA 22304

Gary Tischler •

It has come to pass in the information-internet-youtube-social network-instant info-your phone-is-the-world world —that the major networks have practically given up on covering the Republican and Democratic conventions in an election year.

These days, with the nominations in hand and the vice presidential candidates chosen, the networks figure that they can only yield about an hour in the 10 p.m.-to-11 p.m. time slot to the conventions. So, Mitt Romney had better keep it short tonight.

It’s true that conventions have become scripted to a fare-thee-well, but that doesn’t mean they’ve somehow become uninteresting. They may not make news per se, but they offer an actual look at a whole party — not just the competitors on the primary trial (Romney and the mediocrities he vanquished), the Tea Party demonstrators or Newt Gingrich’s ego writ large — which now consists primarily of tea party members who don’t like to demonstrate but think along very conservative lines.

And speeches are, if not like a “WWF Raw” smack-down, or the Olympics for that matter, still pretty entertaining tests for those who are giving the speech. If you want to learn what each party really stands for, just read the Party Platform, adopted by each party at its convention.

We also listened to speeches sticking to the prime time way of doing things, which includes talking heads talking right through most of former Secretary of State Condoleeca Rice’s compelling speech. We heard Ann Romney, the candidate’s wife, attempt to put a more human face on her husband, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie give the keynote address, and freshly picked vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), the GOP’s and the GOP right’s conservative and ideas man make a name for himself in his first opportunity to make an impression with the kind of national audience provided, oddly enough, by the networks.

Here’s something the media really ought to quit doing: they ought to stop telling us what each speechifier must do and accomplish in his or her speech. Let’s refrain from saying that Mitt Romney is about to make the most important speech in his life, which it clearly isn’t. An example of a much more important one and much shorter one was his “Will you marry me?” to his wife-to-be. Such faux expectations are either left unfulfilled or are greatly exaggerated. I will simply cite Peggy Noonan’s bubbling enthusiasm for Sarah Palin when she debated Joe Biden in 200—or, for that matter, the gentlemanly raves received by the candidate’s wife after having to meet such a high standard in the first place.

Ann Romney did not manage to make her husband any more human than he has appeared so far. It may in the end be an impossible task, given that the presidential candidate himself has pretty much indicated he is not Mr. Personality. She praised her husband exuberantly for his constant support during her illnesses, and for being the man he was when he returned her home from their first date. “He made me laugh then, and he still makes me laugh,” she said. This may be new—so far, jokes have not been Mitt’s forte given the response to the birth certificate joke.

“It’s all about love,” she said. In this, her love for her husband came through like a giant torch as genuine as can be. Did she connect to the women voters out there, the regular folks? That’s a debatable question. I think recognizing the difficulties single mothers or struggling stay-at-home mothers have making ends meet is not the same thing as empathy and imagination, the kind that says: you get it because you did it.

As for Christie—well, Romney was a wise man in not picking him to be his running mate. Christie, charismatic and big of girth and ego, managed to give a rousing look-what-I-did-in-New Jersey speech without mentioning Mitt Romney until the speech was nearly over.

Romney, it appears, also made a wise pick in choosing Ryan to be his running mate. Ryan made an effective—if also accompanied by devil-in-the-details moments—critique of President Obama’s battles or lack of battles in solving the jobs crisis and righting the economy from a persistent level of stagnation.

He did something else: he managed to give a sharp illustration of how to give a GOP convention speech. The speech, delivered with sharp jabs but without malice, laid out Obama’s apparent failures on such matters as health care—”We’ll repeal it”—jobs, the middle class, small businesses, the stimulus and so forth. Ryan paused to deliver heart-felt, deeply personal and touching anecdotes about his own life—the death of his father, a grandmother with Alzheimer’s disease, working his way through college, the love and support of his wife. He peppered the speech with praise for the man who’s on top of the ticket, including noting their differences. Check out their playlists, he urged us, noting that he appears to be a heavy metal rock fan, while Romney plays “the kind of music you hear on elevators.”

He also managed to give a speech that were full of “mistakes” or outright falsehoods, including an anecdotal tale about an auto plant in his hometown of Janesville, Wisc., which he said Obama had promised to keep open. The factory, he said, closed within a year, suggesting that this was another, more poignant in a long line of broken promises on the part of the president. In fact, the factory closed in 2008 during the Bush Administration. There was the usual battle over who’s taking money away from Medicaid—it appears both might be, but not according to Ryan. He also blamed Obama for the lowering of the country’s S&P rate, for not supporting the findings of the super committee on the economic and debt crisis. Ryan did not support the findings, either.

The factory story is potentially telling, because here Ryan took an event and made it a tool to tell a tale that wasn’t true. It’s one thing to make “mistakes” or even “mis-speak,” my favorite parsing for the word, “lie.” It’s another to say something knowing it’s not true, or knowing it’s a half-lie, or knowing it’s wrong. It’s, at best, not being able to resist a temptation when it presented itself.