Latest News

Gary Tischler • November 28, 2011

Just as presidents are always called “Mr. President,” so every boxer who put on gloves and won a championship can call himself champ, even if he’s turned into a chump.

“The champ is dead,” read one headline, and you might be forgiven if you thought that Muhammad Ali, the man who in many people’s minds is THE champ, had passed. But when news came that Smokin’ Joe Frazier, the man with the fierce left-handed punch and the bearing of a modest man, had died, for sure a little piece of Muhammad Ali died too.

The two men, along with George Foreman, provided a level of high-stakes drama in heavyweight boxing annals rarely seen before and never seen since. Ali, through astonishing boxing skills and a charismatic, brash, brassy, exultant ego and personality, achieved untouchable-icon status in the American boxing pantheon – something the quiet, stolid, straight-ahead Frazier never managed. He merely punched the sun god into the canvas, and in three fights, one of which was the Fight of the Century, the other the Thrilla in Manila, he solidified the legends of both men by being unstoppable, even in two defeats.

Every obituary of Frazier, who died at the young age of 67 after a shockingly brief bout with liver cancer, talked about his fights with Ali, who treated Frazier in those days with all the sharp-tongued jabbing and malice the man was famous for and capable of. To African Americans, Ali was the hero, Frazier was the inarticulate foil, which in hindsight, was patently unfair to Frazier, and perhaps overlooked some of Ali’s more cruel flaws. Ali, after all, stood up to the powers that be for refusing to enter the draft, a costly, controversial and principled move when many African American soldiers were dying in Viet Nam. Ali was always the jabber, the rope-a-doper, the poet, the sting-like-a-bee dancer in the ring. Frazier was in the mode of Joe Louis and, more so, Dempsey and Rocky Marciano, inelegant but frighteningly lethal punchers.

“I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration,” Ali said. “My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones.”

Gracious words from the former champ who still suffers from the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s disease. Not so gracious were the references that described Frazier as a gorilla, to better to rhyme with Manila, and calling him an Uncle Tom. Frazier could not get over the slights, the smirks and the insults. When Ali lit the Olympic torch in 1996 in Atlanta, Frazier’s response to a request for a comment was “They should have thrown him in.”

But he forgave if not forgot. “I forgive him,” Frazier said just before the 40th anniversary of his first fight with Ali, in which he floored him, a first for Ali. “He’s in a bad way.”

Ali, in fact, respected Frazier’s courage as a fighter, no more so than in the third fight in Manila, in one of those raw, impossibly brutal fights where no one ever backed off. By the 14th round Frazier couldn’t see and his trainer refused to let him come out to fight the final round. Ali was almost as exhausted and beat up.

“Closest thing to dying that I know of,” Ali reportedly said. In a post-fight interview, he said, “Joe Frazier, I’ll tell the world right now, brings out the best in me. I’m gonna tell ya, that’s one helluva man, and God Bless him.”

“He’s the greatest fighter of all times, next to me.”

To the people that knew Frazier in Philadelphia, where he is an icon, he didn’t need to stand next to anybody. He was as upright as any man could be.

Foreman, made one of the most genial and well-liked sports self-promoters who ever lived, took Frazier’s title from him, but lost it quickly to Ali who rope-a-doped him in Zaire in another fight of the century. “Good night, Joe Frazier. I love you dear friends, George Foreman,” it said on Foreman’s twitter page.

When you look at the sporting scene today, it’s all about money, very little about character and there are no heavyweights on the boxing scene who could carry Frazier’s coffee or take on Ali in his prime and have a chance of two rounds, let alone 15. Lots of razzle and dazzle out there, just some no-names wrapped in title belts that blot out the sun and media money, not much class.

Class he had in abundance. If class were money, Frazier died a rich man.

Zachariah Weaver •

The building at 1078 Wisconsin Ave. was built in 1889, the same year PAUL Bakery started in northern France, Marketing Manager Laetitia Steiner said about the bakery’s new location in Georgetown.

“So that’s like destiny,” she said.

PAUL began in Lille in northern France as a family-built company, and is now an international chain bakery with 453 shops in 25 different countries around the world. The new Georgetown location, however, gives PAUL an advantage because of its authentic old structure that adds to PAUL’S experience.

PAUL, which has announced various opening dates, is set to open up in Georgetown on Nov. 21, marking its first official day of business.

“When we started building the store we had to re-secure the whole thing,” Steiner said. “But we kept as much original stuff as we could, like the brick walls.”

She explained that all of the decoration is imported and that they made sure with their local architect that everything stayed true to PAUL’s spirit. She said she feels that Georgetown seems to have some knowledge of what PAUL is supposed to be like and that this location provides what the bakeries in France offer.

“I feel that Georgetown knows what this bakery is, what PAUL is,” she said. “Georgetown residents have a great knowledge of our breads and they tell me they’ve been to PAUL and ask if we will keep that certain grain they like. I say yes, we will.”

There were some Georgetown residents, she said, who asked her if a specific bread, Badine, was going to be served at the new location. Steiner is hopeful for the success of the new shop because the future customers have a good knowledge of the product.

“We are going to make sure that we reach the quality expectation of the company every single day,” Steiner said.

Steiner said she is excited that the specially-crafted breads and gourmet coffee that PAUL has served for many years, will be available at Georgetown’s location.

“At the end of training there are people that want to come in and we say, look we’re not open but let us give you some food and we have had amazing feedback,” Steiner said. “We are just so happy to finally open because it has been an ongoing story for more than three years,” she said.

There was another PAUL that opened May 2, 2011 in downtown D.C., but what makes this new location very different, according to Steiner, is the way it will staff its café with servers rather than providing a self-service café.
[gallery ids="100375,110798,110794,110792" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner •

Authors on Deck: Uncommon Valor By Dwight Zimmerman BY DWIGHT ZIMMERMAN and John Gresham: A SPECIAL VETERAN’S DAY EVENT

November 11th, 2011 at 12:00 PM | Free and open to the public | mweber@navymemorial.org | Tel: 202-737-2300 | Event Website

In honor of Veteran’s Day and as part of the U.S. Navy Memorial’s “Authors on Deck” book lecture series, authors Dwight Zimmerman and John Gresham will present Uncommon Valor: The Medal of Honor and The Six Warriors Who Earned it in Afghanistan and Iraq. Uncommon Valor identifies six young warriors, the dramatic details of their life-or-death situations and why they responded to those situations as they did. The book also explores the history of the Medal of Honor.

Address

United States Navy Memorial

Navy Heritage Center

701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20004

New Prints by Jake Muirhead Opening Reception

November 11th, 2011 at 05:00 PM | Free | info@oldprintgallery.com | Tel: (202) 965-1818 | Event Website

Jake Muirhead’s solo show New Prints by Jake Muirhead will open at The Old Print Gallery on November 11, 2011 with a nighttime reception, from 5-8pm. Muihead will at teh gallery to discuss his art. The show presents over 20 etchings and aquatints, featuring still lifes and figurative work. Muirhead’s prints exude a rare intensity and liveliness, which can be attributed to his working and reworking of his intaglio plates.

Address

The Old Print Gallery

1220 31st Street NW

Washington, DC 20007

National Philharmonic Performance Celebrates Women Pioneers in Law and Music

November 12th, 2011 at 08:00 PM | $32-$79 Kids under 17 are free | deborah@nationalphilharmonic.org | Tel: (301) 581-5100 | Event Website

Thee National Philharmonic, under Music Director and Conductor Piotr Gajewski, presents Women Pioneers, dedicated to women pioneers in law and music. The program is centered around Amy Beach’s Grand Mass in E-flat Major.

The Honorable Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State, is hosting this event. All proceeds will go toward the Maryland Women’s Bar Association Foundation’s (MWBAF) scholarships and the Finding Justice Project, which makes record of the history of women lawyers in Maryland.

Address

National Philharmonic

The Music Center at Strathmore

5301 Tuckerman Lane

North Bethesda, MD 20852

Homage to Modern Classics

November 13th, 2011 at 04:00 PM | $15-$65 | choralarts@choralarts.org | Tel: 202.785.9727 | Event Website

The Choral Arts Society of Washington presents its season opener, “Homage to Modern Classics.” The first concert in the final season of retiring Founder Norman Scribner, the performance features celebrated works from some of the greatest composers of the 20th Century: Igor Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna and excerpts from Sergei Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky.

Address

Kennedy Center Concert Hall

2700 F Street, NW

Washington DC

The Annual Georgetowner Holiday Benefit and Bazaar

November 17th, 2011 at 06:00 PM | $75.00 | rsvp@georgetowner.com | Tel: (202) 338-4833 | Event Website

Join us to kick off the holiday season with an evening of shopping and merriment as we honor and give back to three shining stars of our community: the Citizen’s Association of Georgetown, Hope for the Warriors and Hyde-Addison Elementary School. EagleBank and Georgetown Media Group present the 2nd Annual Georgetowner Holiday Benefit and Bazaar to at the historic George Town Club Nov. 17 from 6 to 10 p.m.

Come browse for holiday gifts for your friends, family and for yourself at our unique vendors’ booths, featuring local Georgetown businesses. Highlights for attendees this year include Holiday Portraits by Philip Birmingham, an array of cocktails by Beam Global Spirits, a marvelous menu compliments of The George Town Club and a fabulous gift bag.

Address

The Georgetown Club

1530 Wisconsin Avenue NW

Washington DC 20007

Kristin Sørumshagen •

On Nov. 13, the 3rd Annual Hilly Awards were presented at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, and the National Capital Bank was honored with a top Hilly Award for Professional Service.

The Annual Hilly Awards is produced by Capitol Hill’s Chamber of Commerce. The organization works to “connect Hill businesses with the greater community,” according to their website, ChampsDC.Org.

The Hilly Award for Professional Service was one of 12 categories of awards presented. With over 2,100 initial nominations for the awards, the winners were popularly voted on by Capitol Hill residents.

“We’re honored to receive this recognition,” said Richard A. Didden, chairman and CEO of the bank, in a press release. “A Hilly Award epitomizes our corporate philosophy because it is based on votes from the individuals we serve on Capitol Hill.”

According to the release, this is the second consecutive year that NCB has been recognized as a leader in the community. In 2010 the Bank was voted best Community Services organization, also a Hilly Award. The bank has been recognized over the last decade with numerous accolades for its safety and soundness, confirmed by a long list of awards and distinctions on NationalCapitalBanc.Com.

In July 2011, the CHAMPS Hilly Awards received the D.C. Economic Partnership’s citywide award for Small Business Initiative of the Year, according to the event invitation on AtlasArts.Org. This year’s event was kicked of with a Red Carpet Reception before the winners were announced, followed by a celebration in Atlas’ Sprenger Theatre.

NCB’s headquarters are located on Capitol Hill with and a second branch in Friendship Heights. They’re Washington’s oldest bank, founded in 1889, and have been managed by the Didden family for 122 years. It has been recognized for its “exceptional performance, and for being the best bank in DC for small business loans,” according to the press release.

Gary Tischler •

Everything you read or hear about the singer Suzanne Vega inclines you to think that she remains something of a secret. Elusive, quiet, a kind of musical whisper in the annals of popular contemporary music. She seems part legend, part rumor, a mystery with staying power.

So you approach a phone interview with Vega, who’s doing a concert at the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue downtown Saturday at 8 p.m., with a little respectful nervousness, even after listening to and watching her in the rich playing field that is YouTube.

The thing that pops up the most is her most enduring, best known and popular song, “Tom’s Diner,” a wispy, blank poetry infused, gritty little number that first saw the light of day in 1987 on her third album, “Solitude Standing.” Turns out, all poetry aside, you could dance to it—as in “do do do do do do do do.”

Even now, she’s a little puzzled by the continuing refrained fame of the song, which has been done, covered and re-mixed by hordes of musicians, groups and singers, and found its way into the pop culture like a house guest that always knew he was staying for good. The song, and Vega, are especially popular in Europe, where she is something of a goddess after 25 years on the scene.

“I guess I was surprised initially by how the song was received and its longevity,” she said. “I meant it as a light song, it was about this diner by Columbia University, it was bouncy, but it was also a series of observations by someone sitting in a diner, watching people, society, that kind of thing, a little ironic. It’s hard to say what you were thinking all these many years ago.”

Vega, who recently sang with her daughter Ruby, now in her teens, doesn’t seem like someone from all these many years ago. She—and her music, even though she hasn’t done a new album in some time—seem like yesterday, a minute ago, fresh off the train.

Vega came up for air and into the spotlight in the early 1980s when a kind of folk revival was going on, (among many musical uprisings), and as a result she is one of the more hyphenated singers in the annals of music, as in folky-acoustic-intellectual-pop-waif-new age. She is perhaps most importantly a writer with a keen, sharp eye. One that sees the world pretty clearly, as opposed to in ideal, romantic terms. “I’m not overtly political, singing about politicians and that kind of thing” she said. “But I do see things and feel them and I know that I don’t fit the mode of girl singers, even folk singers. I don’t care about that, the ‘you’ve got to look good to make it,’ that kind of thing.”

This may have something to do with the fact that although she was born in Santa Monica, she grew up in New York, in neighborhoods where you have to be savvy, a little tough and smart to navigate your way safely: 102nd Street and roadway in Spanish Harlem on the Upper West Side of New York City. They’re also the sort of places that heat up the imagination, inspire and make you, like the photographer Walker Evans urged, someone who goes out “with a hungry eye.” She went to the New York High School of Performing Arts, the “Fame” school. She wrote poetry at a very young age and also showed off her toughness in her writing. Here is Vega at 13: “I’m the baddest girl in the world/as I’m as bad as Super Fly/and I don’t need coke to get me high/I can beat you, Jack, and you better get back/when the Vega’s come around.”

She laughed when I told her I had read her early poetry. But poetry—blank verse, swift, hard, arrow-straight words mark her song-writing, and that quality makes her enduring, there’s nothing pretentious about her work, or the way she sings and talks. She’s a serious person, sure, but not so mysterious or waif-like as she’s often described.

“I don’t know about the waif part, now, I mean I am 50, so maybe that doesn’t apply,” she said. “But yes, I’m serious about the work, about how I live, about being a mother, about responsibility.” She has also written a play about Carson McCullers, worked with David Lynch, always pushing, always exploring. She toured with Bob Dylan in Europe and held concerts which re-created her first album in its entirety.

She sings, even on videos, with clarity, and while she’s not one of those singers that bowls you over with emotion, or movement, her songs fly straight at you, unfettered. “I’ve gotten more comfortable on stage over the years,” she said. “I move around a lot more.”

She picked up a guitar as a teen, but started out majoring at Barnard College in—surprise—English Literature. “I saw Lou Reed once in person, and that had a huge influence on me,” she said. “That influenced me strongly.”

Which is not to say she was an instant hit—her demo tapes were rejected by just about everyone of note. In her early twenties, she played in a bar in Buffalo called Nietzsche’s, which somehow seems perfect.

When she did finally put out her first, self-titled album, it was a huge hit to the tune of over a million albums. Her second album was called “Marlene on the Wall,” with the haunting hit song “Luka,” a song about a homeless child in the neighborhood. “I used to see the kid, and it was meant to be about his observations, how he felt about the world around him, in the hallways, out in the streets.”

“Solitude Standing” came next with “Tom’s Diner,” which apparently touched the imagination of all sorts of creative types high and low, including such diverse groups and artists asd Terror Squad, Eazy-E, Will Smith, Ludacris, Jars of Clay, 2Pac, REM, Nikki D and Peter Behrens with “Dep De Do Dep.”

High Tide times followed—at the very first Lilith Fair, that popular mobilization of all-star women vocalists touring the country, she was the first star to appear. She won Best Female Artist for “Luka,” beating out none other than Cher.

She is now in the midst of a four set CD project, the first of which, “Suzanne Vega, Close UP, Volume 1, Love Songs”—came out last year and sparked a 38-city tour. “Right now, yes I guess I’m looking back, summing up,” she said. “When I finish, then it’s time to move in to something new.”

Something new is hard to define. So much of what she has done , musically, writing wise, is new and in tune with the new—as the do, do, do, do’s of “Tom’s Diner” and Luka’s straight-talking and singing lament – continue to haunt. They carry forward, become a part of what’s next.

Robert Devaney •

On Nov. 16, the board of directors of the Georgetown Business Association elected its officers for 2012 and held its networking reception at F.Scott’s restaurant on 36th Street.

Succeeding Joe Giannino as president will be Rokas Beresniovas of HSBC Bank USA. The new vice president will be Riyad Said of Wells Fargo; treasurer, Karen Ohri of Georgetown Floorcoverings; secretary, Janine Schoonover of Serendipity3. They begin their one-year terms Jan. 1.

“Building on great leadership for the past two years, the GBA has new energy and is getting younger members,” Beresniovas said. “We have to sustain that, and we have built better relationships with many community groups.” The GBA — which also acts as a lobbyist for small businesses — works closely with the Georgetown Business Improvement District, which is not allowed to lobby.

The GBA’s Dec. 14 annual meeting on Dumbarton House will elect new members to its board and celebrate the holiday season.

Georgetowner •

Alliance Francaise Celebration of Beaujolais

November 18th, 2011 at 6:00 to 9:00PM | $ 40.00 members, $ 50.00 admission VIP: $120 | Tel: 202-234-7911 | Event Website

Kick off the beginning of the French wine harvest with a formal celebration at The Washington Club hosted by Alliance Francaise. This event will offer the greatest variety of entertainment, in a building that was used as a temporary White House during the Coolidge administration. During this evening, guests will enjoy the beautiful building, a live jazz band, fashion show, silent auction, DJ and dinner buffet from a local Franco-inspired restaurant. An open bar will be set with their traditional red and white beverages.

Address

The Washington Club

15 Dupont Circle

Washington DC

The Washington Harbour Food Drive

November 17-22nd, 2011 All Day | Tel: 202-944-4230 |

The Washington Harbour is now collecting non-perishable food items for donation to the Food Drive for SOME (So Others Might Eat). From now until November 22, donation boxes will be located in the East and West office lobbies at 3000 and 3050 K Street NW, Washington, DC at The Washington Harbour. The lobbies are open from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The collection will be donated to help stock the food pantry at SOME, which provides meals to those in need in the Washington, D.C. area. Suggested food items include: nutrition bars; cereal; pasta & sauce; rice; beans; macaroni; canned meat/soup/vegetables; peanut butter/jelly; evaporated milk; instant potatoes; instant oatmeal; ground coffee.

Address

Washington Harbour Condominium

3030 K St NW

Washington DC 20007

“Masters of Illusion: Impossible Magic”

November 19th, 2011 at 8:00 PM | Event Website

The illusionists from TV’s “Masters of Illusion: Impossible Magic” come to Strathmore for two nights for a live magic show. Saturday, Nov. 19, 8 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 20, 2 p.m. Masters of Illusion Live!, which NBC Radio declares is the “best non-stop family entertainment anywhere!” features a cadre of talented showstoppers –Mark Kalin, Jinger Leigh, Farrell Dillon, Darren Romeo, Kevin James and Aaron Radatz.

Address

Music Center at Strathmore

5301 Tuckerman Lane

North Bethesda, MD 20852

Sculpture Garden Ice Rink Opening

November 19th, 2011 at 10:00 AM | $8.00 for adults and $7.00 for children, students, and seniors | ngaicerink@guestservices.com | Tel: (202) 216-9397 | Event Website

The National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden Ice Rink is scheduled to open this Saturday at 10 a.m. despite warm-ish weather. Check it out for a chance to enjoy this winter activity while wearing only a light jacket. Call 202-216-9397 for more information and for conditions.

Address

7th St NW & Constitution Avenue

Washington D.C.

15th Annual Holiday Brunches with Santa

November 27th, 2011 at 10:00 AM | $39.95 for adults and $20.00 for children ages 4-11 | lisa@lindarothpr.com | Tel: 202- 416-8555 | Event Website

Santa Claus is flying into town early again this season, parking his reindeer and sled atop the world-famous Kennedy Center, as Roof Terrace Restaurant prepares for its 15th Annual Holiday Brunches with Santa. Families and friends are invited to gather amidst live jazz music and incomparable skyline views, while visiting with Old St. Nick to share their holiday wish lists.

When: Sunday, November 27; Saturday, December 10; Sunday, December 11; Saturday, December 17; Sunday, December 18.

Address

Roof Terrace Restaurant

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

2700 F Street

Washington, DC

Gary Tischler •

Everyone agrees.

Andy Rooney, who died at the age of 92 last week, was a curmudgeon.

The CBS correspondent, who had become an icon to Americans if not the world for delivering intemperate, grouchy, funny and sometimes controversial commentaries from 1978 to 2011, made his attitude of irritation and annoyance so much a part of his shtick, that he turned it into a profession.

As in: Curmudgeon Andy Rooney dies at 92. The word or variations on that theme—the New York Times headlined him the “Cranky Voice of CBS”—unquestionably made its way into numerous headlines across the land.

Rooney, in an interview with 60 Minutes Colleague Morley Safer, saw himself as a writer, not a man with an attitude. But it was the attitude, hitched to a man who could rumple brand new clothes in seconds, sitting behind a rumpled desk, looking at the audiences out from under a set of imposing, bristling eyebrows with baleful eyes, which endeared himself to audiences as much as what he had to say.

Remembering some of his “spoken essays,” and some of the comments he made to Safer about refusing to give autographs, or his low opinions of fan mail he received, I suspect the curmudgeon was no act. I suspect that he highlighted his curmudgeon credentials with relish, it was authentic to a fault, and as such things often happen in mysterious ways, the quality came across on television in a way that made him a beloved everyman, where the same quality might make you want to grimace in person.

Rooney wrote about himself, or rather how he dealt with daily life, and all of its annoyances from cereal boxes too big for the meager amount of cereal they contained to the omnipresence of hefty phone books, the commercialization and preponderance of useless products, the mystery of keys and why they wouldn’t turn. He had no patience for youth culture and refused to take it seriously. Those kinds of rants received an affectionate and recognizable hearing from a huge audience, the rest of us out there, especially, you suspect, men who got set in their ways around the age of ten on certain matters. He spoke the frustrating rant and language that a long-married man might speak over breakfast, with the spouse nodding ‘yes, dear,’ who is bewildered by the mysteries of a can opener.

He was of course much more serious than Paul Revere warning of the coming of the fall of civilization. There’s an element of the truism that as you get older, the past seems rosier than it was, and the future looks bleak, which of course it does, giving where age in the end brings us. He had strong and powerful opinions about events and people, and never lacked courage in saying what he thought needed saying, hence his take on the “Shock and Awe” start of the second Gulf war: “We didn’t shock them, and we didn’t awe them in Baghdad. The phrase makes us look like foolish braggarts. The president ought to fire whoever wrote that for him.”

Rooney, you can fairly suspect, had an intemperate temperament, probably gained honestly. An avowed pacifist, he was part of that Tom Brokaw, dubbed Greatest Generation which served in World War II, in his case as a war correspondent for Stars and Stripes. He accompanied bomber crews on raids into Germany, deliberately putting himself into harm’s and flak’s way. He started out as a writer—including working for loveable and sometimes curmudgeonal Arthur Godfrey before landing a job with CBS.

He got into trouble more than once, as curmudgeons often do with rash judgments and comments about gays, African Americans, women—he didn’t think they should be sideline reporters at football games—and Kurt Cobain. Statements which he sometimes regretted because they rode against the grain of his self-described liberalism.

But he could also be generous, and eloquent, as when he wrote about the crew of the space shuttle Challenger, which blew up after takeoff in 1986. “We can all be prouder to be human beings l because that’s what they were. They make up for a lot of liars cheats and terrorists among us.”

Andy Rooney died of serious complications from surgery. He made his last appearance on 60 Minutes on Oct. 2 of this year.

In the Safer interview, Rooney said he thought about death a lot. “I don’t like it,” he said.

Me neither. On this matter, we are all curmudgeons.

Samantha Hungerford •

The 17-year-old boy who was shot on M Street Halloween night died today after eight days spent in critical condition. The teenager is the first fatality among the six victims that were shot that night in five separate incidents throughout D.C.

On Oct. 31, a man was arrested close to the scene of the Georgetown crime and charged with carrying a pistol without a license, according to The Washington Post. The District police have not yet stated whether that man will be charged with the shooting. They also have not released the names of the man who was arrested or the young victim.