I am going out with a guy tomorrow afternoon to the National Gallery of Art. We intended to walk around see the sights of DC and then go out for lunch/dinner (depending on how late we get there/stay). I need some good date restaurant recommendations! We are both Europeans; I just moved from Germany and he is from Prague. This is not a first date, but we are a new couple. We are looking for a moderately priced restaurant with a good wine selection as well as good food. We like ethnic food (as authentic as possible) and neither of us are vegetarians. I've looked up lots of restaurants on various sites, but the reviews are so mixed, which makes it very confusing. I was hoping someone here would be able to recommend something good. Recommendations in other areas of DC or VA (where we both live) for future dates will also be appreciated :) Thanks!

Hello :]

as you can see i'm very new to this community. so be gentle :)

i joined basically to see if anyone has any information about migrating to South Africa from the UK. Sounds big i know lol. but it has been on my mind for ages now and i'm still no closer to getting any info about what the requirements/restrictions are etc.

Basically my story is that i have some relatives over there and have visited a few times, and decided that the UK has no more to offer. so set my heart on moving to South Africa - Durban or Cape Town in particular. i have searched high and low on the web about both cities and have found nothing but holiday information :/ much to my frustration i have found nothing on moving there.

Has anyone seen or heard of anywhere that i can get some advice/info about this? or have actually moved there themselves and can give me some help? i'm looking to move in the next 2-3 years after i have payed a few things off - so not a huge rush. but the sooner i can get info the better :]

anything will do to start me off - web links, tourist information places. literally ANYTHING lol.

Ta very much :] x

The show is Tuesday, July 28th, at 7:30 and I have one ticket available. The seats are awesome... Section 103, Row B, Seat 27.

Please email if interested. I can either mail the ticket to you or meet you somewhere public. Cash, Visa, Mastercard, or Discover accepted (I have a business so I can run credit cards).

Thanks!

(My apologies in advance if this is not allowed!)

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/tix/1268738862.html

I start a course in co-op development today: “From Workers to Owners: Steps to Start Worker Cooperatives”. It’s part the economy and part the recent press our store has gotten, but we are getting calls or emails multiple times a week from people wanting to start co-ops. In addition to the cheese buying, one of my jobs is to field those calls. It’s an online course – and not a free one -- and I heard that 83 people are signed up.

I don’t want to out anyone before they are ready so I won’t name any places or details, but I talked to two incredibly different groups last week. One group of African Americans from an urban area in another state who want to do something – anything – that will help provide jobs and better health in their community. They were information gathering in general, without a specific plan of the type of model they wanted.

The other was an API ethnic group with a very specific idea of taking an existing, successful franchise model and converting it into a worker-owned version of the same thing. I don’t know that business model well, but they seemed pretty sure they could make it work.

It’s almost unfair to have people come for a tour and answer questions about our modes of operation since our blueprint for success is uncopyable. They see the result of nearly 35 years of work, starting in a totally different economy and era, with the good luck to be starting in an industry that – at that time – wasn’t an industry. I think there could be a blueprint. (The Cheeseboard/Arizmendi model is certainly a very good one) We just haven’t figured it out yet.

Historically-speaking I also speak to about 25 groups for every one that actually starts a co-op. I hope that this course – and two other Rainbow workers are taking it as well -- helps provide some groundwork to increase that ratio.

Does anyone have a pair of tickets for the Sarah Kane play "4.48 PSYCHOSIS" showing Wednesday night? It's sold out and I really want to go!
Thanks

I just bought this Phillips 3-speed for my daily, down and dirty, weather-harassed commute through the Boston area. I call her Leisurenaught: Calypso (after the great Jacques Cousteau's sea-whip), and she rides like a rattly, creaky dream. I love her paint job, but I'd really like to touch up the white bits and possibly refresh the logo. I've had decent luck with rustoleum spray paints for the big stuff, but this job is going to require good matching and a small brush. What should I use for paints? Do any of you have experience with refreshing old detail jobs? I googled the shit out of this and I couldn't find anything very helpful.

Thanks pirates!

Tomorrow I leave to see my baby, who is spending two months in Brooklyn, apparently like this:



photo emailed to me by Ms. Palindrome

This is what LJ's for.

Building upon hochi666's recount on FaceBook, here's what we can remember from the Chapstik / Meatmen West Coast leg of shows:

First, I have to say how great it was to tour with Tesco and his crew / band / demented family and how great my band held it together in tight quarters and long rides. Looking back, it still was one of the most fun times I've had having sex with another band.

Drove for two days straight after loading the van and trailer in Detroit, stopping in Iowa during a storm and then at a Cheyenne, Wyoming hotel to get gay with the Meatmen and a tumbleweed.

• May 14 2009 BURT’S TIKI LOUNGE - Salt Lake City, Utah - "Surprisingly unconservative, violent crowd"

I ate vegan food in SLC for the second time. HoChi and I walked to the Mormon Temple where we almost had the balls to walk into the main, forbidden building -which was left open during a wedding. Instead we were cornered by two missionary girls who were lucky enough only to ask HoChi about his religious views. Show was fun considering the Mormonic nature of the area. Someone almost took Malosh and his guitar rig off the stage in a fit of Meat fervor. We heard from the tattooed Meatmen fans that SLC is a very liberal area completely surrounded by Glenn Becks with guns and inbreeding. A homeless guy bought us Arizona tea, frozen burritos and chicken, then I remembered him from my punk days in Tampa, FL. Pink Lincolns rule! We slept in Layton, Utah that night, incubating many jokes about my name and sex.



• May 15 2009 Gusto’s Boise, Idaho 6:00P "Featuring the naked load out!"

Hardcore fact: Boise, Idaho has the largest Basque population in the US. Meatman drummer, Ian, is a scholar of isolate languages and was thrilled to eat at one of the many Basque restaurant / bars during a street festival. The beer and lentils ruled. The show was really fun, because I got to play with the Meatmen and crippled kid in a "Crippled Children Suck" Tshirt started the pit:

This was the first West Coast test of Tesco's non-PC humor, and Boise passed with flying colors. The bar liked our band and got 3/5 of us so drunk that Dan and Elvis loaded the trailer completely pantsless. I changed a trailer tire, worried about the severe wear already on both bands' trailers. This may have been one of the greatest nights for me musically, because Tesco came up and sang our cover of 999's "Homicide" and I later played on stage with The Meatmen. Even the under-aged kids watching from the sidewalk got the jokes:



• May 16 2009 FUN HOUSE - Seattle, Washington "A TAD exciting"

The best scenery is the drive West into Seattle. Our drummer had never been west of Chicago, so this was like touring the moon. Chapstik alumnus, Skippy, and his wife Susie, came out and had pizza with us and "Uncle Tesco" at Zeke's. Was really cool, because the last time we played Seattle was for their wedding. We ran into Tad (yes that TAD) and Peggy in the bar. They were apparently there to see us play what turned out to be one of our more intense sets. One of the Mentors were there and was not quite getting the Tesco humor, because he brought a 2lb dog to the show. This was by far the show with the most dogs and basketball hoops being used. It was packed; people liked us. We love Seattle. I was handed or offered heroin three times for putting on a good show. I shot some up in this backstage bathroom. We need to finish writing the next album, because Tad wants to record it.



• May 17 2009 PLAN B - Portland, Oregon - "What stinks? Portland crust!"

My band was thoroughly unimpressed with this town despite it having the biggest crowd of the leg. I can see why: as we pulled up to Plan B, we saw a guy smoking crack behind the large venue. The crowds and opening bands were numerous & good, but they all really, really smelled bad - worse than us. Extra points to the band with the bass clarinet, but the guy playing it was the guy smoking crack earlier. I got a microphone stand shoved into my face in a good way and Ian the Pit Viper got to hang out with his hero, Spit Stix, drummer of Fear! But even my delicious orange Tang doughnut purchase was tainted by the hoardes of homeless with iPhones we had to wade through to get to Voodoo Doughnuts at 3am.


May 18th- day off in North California with our old drummer, Brian, and his family. Excellent food and margaritas (I'm told).

• May 19 2009 THEE PARKSIDE - San Francisco, California - "SFCA is not PC and we love that.



After being interviewed by Naked Rob on his awesome Pirate Cat Radio show (a real, tolerated station complete with swear words), we booked it to the club, so we could book it to one of our three Amoeba Records runs. The opener, “The Meat Sluts” We probably the best opener of the tour. All girl, meat-themed rock and roll:
. They were passing out "ONE LESS FIXIE" stickers to the appreciative fans of overconfident hipster death. If there was a band that could carry on as the Meatwomen in the punk pantheon of humor, it is The Meat Sluts. By far, this club had the best sound of the trip. The PA itself and the acoustics were not encouraging, but while listening to the Sluts and their small gear, I could not believe how good and big it sounded. The secret? the best sound guy in the world is never a guy:

TIGGY Dave of the Meatmen told me later that she id sound for The Paybacks on the Little Steven tour. She said she was about to tour with Peter Murphy. So glad she got to slum for us and The Meat.

Like most shows, we drove after playing to get to a bed or two. This time, we climbed the Santa Cruz mountains on a tiny, winding, steep road that was slow, but filled with fun, near-death encounters involving wildlife and cliffs. The GPS "short cut" eventually got us to Elvis' aunt's amazing place hidden between redwoods, rare Chinese Sequoia and home made Kahlua.


• May 20 2009 VELVET JONES - Santa Barbara, California - "Literal Attack of the Midget, Part I"
California tans, face lifts, $10 to park the vans, and picturesque pier / boardwalk, $10 veggie burgers, a venue you could lick, and pristine streets did not bode well for a wild night of pissed off rock. But when we ran into two women on the street who already had their chests signed by Tesco, we knew that Santa Barbara had a seedy underbelly (or shanty town nearby).
The promoter of the show decided he wanted his band to go on right before The Meatmen instead of us (we were direct support for these tours and shared some gear). We agreed to the change, knowing that very few local bands could match the power of Chapstik on tour. When we finished, the guy hung his head low and whimpered something about not wanting to go on after that. They were hardly the worst support of the tour, so... meh. We got to rest before enjoying The Meatmen at least.
We needed the rest, because the singer from one of the earlier bands, the "little person" of the band Castle Greyskull was planning on attacking us on stage.

I had no idea someone was trying to punch my crotch during the set.

More later.

On a recent excursion to Dead Generals Park, I encountered this map of Washington City in 1862. I found it interesting. As you can see, the map implies that almost the entire NW was nothing more than farmland at the time:



( One more under cut )

If you want to see other photos from the park, you can view them on my journal. I thought these maps were thought provoking if nothing else.

Berlin Brothel Offers Discounts For Cyclists

BERLIN (Reuters) – A Berlin brothel has come up with a novel way to negate the impact of the global economic crisis and target a new group of customers at the same time -- offering a discount to patrons who arrive on bicycles.

"The recession has hit our industry hard," said Thomas Goetz, owner of the "Maison d'envie" brothel.

"Obviously we hope that the discount will attract more people," he added. "It's good for business, it's good for the environment -- and it's good for the girls."

Customers who arrive on bicycle or who can prove they took public transportation get a 5-euro (4 pounds) discount from the usual 70-euro ($100) fee for 45 minute sessions, Goetz told Reuters. He said the environmentally friendly offer was working.

"We have around 3-5 new customers coming in daily to take advantage of the discount," he said, adding the green rebate has helped alleviate traffic and parking congestion in the neighbourhood.

Germany is one of the few countries in the world where prostitution is legal. It has about 400,000 prostitutes who, since 2002, have been allowed to enter formal labour contracts.

as of today i will, in fact, be skating in the bout on saturday. apparently another member of the team just learned she is pregnant. so no skating for her.

i should be happy, right? instead i'm just kind of over it. and now i've got four practices to get my act together.

there is more to my life than roller derby, but i just don't have the patience to type it all out right now.

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sea/1192150038.html

Date: 2009-05-27, 4:05PM PDT


Whoo-hoo Seattle, the sun is out! Let's discuss a few things before you fumble with swapping the unused ski rack for the unused bike rack on the Subaru.

So yes, you've noticed the sun is out, and hey!- maybe it would be cool to to some bike riding. Let's keep in mind that the sun came out of all 600,000 of us, so for the most part, you're not the only one who noticed. Please remember that when you walk into my shop on a bright, sunny Saturday morning. It will save you from looking like a complete twat that huffs "Why are there so many people here?"

Are we all on the same page now about it being sunny outside? Have we all figured out that we're not the only clever people that feel sunny days are good for bike riding? Great. I want to kiss all of you on your forehead for sharing this moment with me. Put your vitamin D starved fingers in mine, and we'll move on together to some pointers that will make life easier.

( It gets better... )

Does anyone have suggestions for places that do couples massage in the area?  It doesn't have to be super fancy (I'm on a budget) but I'd ideally like to find a place that allows you to be in the same room as each other (the boyfriend has never had a massage before and is nervous about going alone).  I live in the Greenbelt area but am willing to drive/metro for the right place.

Thanks!

This is how country my maternal grandfather's people were:

The 1880 census records a distant uncle of some sort or another as being named "Josire."  (His grave marker says "Josiah.")

I suppose I should be reassured that the box to indicate whether anyone in the household is "blind," "deaf or dumb," "otherwise disabled," or "idiotic or insane" is blank.

Tuesday, 14 July 2009, at 8:00pm

Washington Psychotronic Film Society presents

( The Big Bus (James Frawley, 1976) )

Tsogyelgar Dharma Center has undertaken the project of creating the largest cycle of Tantric Buddhist murals in America, a colorful depiction of Buddhas in Purelands painted over sixty feet of wall, twelve feet high. Not since the luminary Tibetan Lama Trungpa Rinpoche created the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya in Colorado, has there been a work of Buddhist Art on this scale in America. When Trungpa Rinpoche came to America in the 1970s, Tantric Buddhism from Tibet was just beginning to take root in the West. A generation later, it is in full bloom as evidenced by this ambitious work of American Buddhist Art. The mural is housed in the Main Shrine Room at Tsogyelgar Dharma Center, which is hidden away in an unassuming mid-western barn, just outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Begun in 2007, this exquisite mural will be completed for an Opening Ceremony on July 18, 2009.

http://web.me.com/tsogyelgar/Tsogyelgar/Events2.html

The artist, Mr. Rob Davis, an accomplished painter and former graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, apprenticed for the past several years with master Tibetan painter, Pema Rinzin, at the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art in New York City. Traktung Rinpoche, the center’s Director, Meditation Master, and scholar of Vajrayana Buddhism and Comparative Religion hired Mr. Davis to carry out his vision. Traktung Rinpoche conceived of the project, along with the Tsogyelgar’s meditation gardens and stupas to further the center’s aim of translating and transmitting the Buddha’s teachings in the West.

Столько лет мучилась с переводом русских слов на английский, теперь обратная засада.
Как перевести dedicated? В контексте "dedicated followers of XXX idea"?

Не самый приятный тон, и куча мудачья в комментах, но по сути - жесть.

http://andvari-loki.livejournal.com/180694.html

В этом году впервые ведется прием в ВУЗы на основании результатов ЕГЭ. И картина уже складывается поистине феерическая. В ВУЗах обеих столиц - небывалый наплыв вундеркиндов из отдаленных регионов, причем пальму первенства твердо держат Чечня, Дагестан и Ингушетия. Удивительным образом старается не отставать от них и российская глубинка, но все же не поспевает - если в столицах количество сдавших профильные ЕГЭ на 100 баллов едва достигает полутора сотен (в основном это выпускники специализированных школ), то горах Кавказа таких выращено - едва ли не четверо из каждых пяти выпускников. Конкурсный бал по ЕГЭ (три экзамена) там, где в прошлом году он держался в районе 150 (при среднем балле по предмету от 50 до 60) , теперь зашкаливает за 250 баллов. На десяток бюджетных мест по каждой специальности претендует по нескольку сотен выпускников, имеющих по профильным ЕГЭ оценки в диапазоне от 80 до 90 и выше, при этом местных уроженцев из них - буквально единицы.

То есть, понятно, да? В столицах худо-бедно удается наладить контроль, и экзамен (почти) честный. В глубинке добрые учителя "дают детишкам шанс" - где за корзину яиц, а где и просто за хорошее отношение. В нацреспубликах, где иллюзий о честном отборе, когда дело касается бюджетной халявы, сроду не водилось, просто всем желающим ставят 100% за небольшую плату. И это значит, что у хорошего ученика в этом году шансов поступить нет вообще. То есть, совсем вообще. Да, совсем малограмотных - и не супер-имущих - отсеет сессия. Да, дети из семей с хорошими социальными ресурсами (и с родителями, которым не пофиг) еще пару лет назад знали, что надо бросить силы на олимпиады, чтобы проскочить мимо очереди. Возможно, не упустит своего супер-упертый. Но нормальный средний - ВУЗовский кадр - то есть, добросовестный четверочник с относительно приличным развитием, из относительно приличной семьи, закончивший не самую плохую школу - шансов не имеет.

Тут надо понимать, как поколение родителей нынешних выпускников вкладывалось в - по большей части единственных - детей, в оценки, языки, кружки, репетиторов, чтобы вообразить себе, какой крах всех надежд сейчас происходит. По всем опросам года с 95-го по 2005 образование и будущее детей это приоритет №1. Даже такие вещи, как материальное благополучие и здоровье, рядом не стояли, не говоря уже о чем-то выше по пирамиде Маслоу.

So I haven't posted lately. I know, I suck and all that. Here's a recap on the cool things (I will leave out the not-so-cool as to avoid being a bummer in all my posts):

1. The Subaru is fixed. I might have the suspension dialed in a little stiff, as I was getting bounced all over the place on the drive home. That's an easy fix. Only issue is that I have two right-side front struts on there. It's not a performance thing, but instead of bolting a couple of clips in-place, I was forced to rely on zip-ties. I've emailed the source a letter of concern to see if they'll address it.

2. The Salsa has new shoes and a new brain. I think you already knew about the new brain (a Garmin Edge 705), but the new "shoes" are a recent addition:



The new wheels totally change the personality of the bike. She's more sedate, heavier, and a little more slow-to-respond. That's a good thing in this case -- these are training wheels, not race wheels.

3. Had a cyclocross clinic on Saturday. It was held on the grounds of my first race (Powderhorn Park, two years ago), and it was pretty awesome. I learned a lot by being there, and I'm really looking forward to 'cross season happening. During the clinic, I learned a few things gear-wise that I need to address on my bike. First, I'm going to cut it down from 20 speeds to a 1x10 set-up so I don't keep dropping the chain in front. Secondly, new tires. The ones I have are great for dry hardpack conditions, but not so awesome for muddy/soft/wet conditions -- you know, like you find in MN.

4. Kate's coming home! It ain't permanent (yet), but it's something. She flies in on Tuesday night, and will be home for a week. Thank god! I've missed her like crazy, and it'll be nice to see her for more than just a 34-hour stretch (16+ of which are usually spent sleeping).