The Arlington Blog Revolution

I love to see more blogs about Arlington popping up!

Here's another one - this one focused on Arlington Village

It's a new blog, but looking good. It tackles issues and is opinionated. Let's keep the Arlington conversation going.

Check it out at http://www.arlingtonvillage.blogspot.com/

The Thread as Line

If you've never been to the Ellipse Art Center, you're missing a real treat. Only 3 weeks left on their current exhbit:

The Thread as Line: Contemporary Sewn Art

Currently on Exhibit through Saturday, July 12, 2008

Closed the week of July 4th

Gallery hours during exhibitions: Wednesday through Friday 11am-7pm & Saturday 11am-2pm

To Putt or Not to Putt

The disussion has been going on for a while now, and it sill seems to be going on.

Will there be a putt putt golf course in Ballston?

According to the Sun Gazette, planning is continuing, but several key groups including the Washington Capitals and the Ballston-Virginia Square Partnership. are against it.

So, here's my question for you: what would you like to see at that spot at the corner of Ballston Mall? Putt-Putt or something else?

Shout out below.

Find Your Inner Artist!

Calling all Arlington artists and want to be artists. It's time to reach inside yourself and find your inner artist with the annual All Arlington Salon at the Ellipse Arts Center.

This is a all for entries for the annual All Arlington Salon featuring the work of artists who live, work, or study in Arlington. This year the exhibit is "all-hung", meaning everyone who submits something will get their work displayed. Pretty cool.

Drop of date for your work is Thursday, July 17, 2008 (one-work only - less than 5 feet in any dimension or less than 40 pounds)

The exhibition runs from August 1 to September 13. Free.

http://www.arlingtonarts.org/ellipseartscenter.htm

Public Art Presentation

Want to learn more about public art in Arlington? Check out this free presentatation on Arlington's public art collection and master plan.

Arlington County’s Public Art Program Announces
a free presentation about
Arlington’s Public Art Master Plan and Public Art Collection

Learn about Arlington’s Public Art Master Plan, Public Art - Public Places, and view a presentation of Arlington’s permanent and temporary public art collection as it has developed over the last three decades. The public art master plan and collection reflect the County’s commitment to public art as a key tool for promoting design excellence and creating high quality public space.

Monday, June 30, 2008
7pm - 9pm

Arlington Central Library, 1015 North Quincy Street
2nd floor meeting room, free parking on site

Questions?
Contact Caroline Danforth
cdanforth@arlingtonva.us
703.228.3771

Goats Remain Afloat, Await Vote

From the Sun Gazette:

Owners of the two goats were ordered to remove them from a Ballston home by county officials, citing a ban on keeping livestock in residential neighborhoods. But the order has been put on hold until Aug. 13, when the matter will be heard by the Board of Zoning Appeals.

After speaking with County Board Vice Chairman Barbara Favola and the county employee who issued the violation, Bryant Nichols and Matt Haggerty - who rent the property and purchased Carne and Leche to keep as pets, found a temporary way around the rules.

The pair “filed an appeal to get a variance, like you would if you were building an addition,” said Haggerty. “By doing this, we automatically got an extension.”

You can find more of the back story here. You can also visit Carne and Leche's website at SaveOurGoats.com.

Shirlington Village Blog

Just a quick post to let you know about antother Arlington blog, this one focused on Shirlington Village. I'm embarrased to say I've never run across this before, especially since the author is a regular commenter on this blog.

Anyways, looks like good stuff, I reccomend you check it out.

http://shirlingtonv.blogspot.com/

Just Enough Anxiety: The Hidden Driver of Business Success

No secret tips from me here, but check out this author event and book and you may find some!

June 23, 7:00 PM

Author Event—"Just Enough Anxiety: The Hidden Driver of Business Success"
Central Library Auditorium

Learn how harnessing the right amount of anxiety can yield positive results. Executives at corporations including Boeing and Johnson & Johnson have used psychologist Bob Rosen's insights to motivate and encourage. Former U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper calls Rosen's book a "profound examination of what makes us tick." Books will be available for sale and signing.

Looking for more fun things to do in Arlington? Subscribe to the What's Up Arlington! e-newsletter

12 Arlington Bargain Restaurants

Looking for a great, affordable place to eat in Arlington?

Look no further than these 12 restaurants, all named one of the 100 best bargain restuarants by Washingtonian magazine.

• Bangkok 54 - "a serious kitchen that prizes big flavors and loves to play with textures"


• Café Pizzaiolo, Crystal City - "the crispness of the crusts lends itself to takeout"


• Delhi Club, Clarendon - "best for Indian-food fanciers who like it hot"


• Eat Bar - "attracts Clarendon's young and trendy"


• Eleventh Street Lounge - "best for cozy dates . . . [and] late-night nibbles”)


• El Pike/Pike Pizza - one of the area's best places to experience Bolivian cooking


• El Pollo Rico - "you're here for the Peruvian-style chicken, one bite of which will grab your attention"


• Guajillo - "generous plates of robust Mexican cooking"


• Minh's - "vast catalog of dishes from North and South Vietnam executed with authenticity and sophistication"


• Pho 75 - "the area's best, most nourishing fast food"


• Ravi Kabob I and II - "these tiny Pakistani cafés . . . are in a class by themselves"


• Thai Square - "'the focus is cooking, which pumps new life into familiar dishes"

Wednesdays: Organic Beer Happy Hour in Shirlington

My immediate reaction to reading about Busboys & Poets' organic beer happy hour was, "How have I not heard about this yet???":

If you want to sample organic ale without the high price tag, Busboys and Poets in Shirlington hosts its Organic Beer Happy Hour every Wednesday. You can try Wolaver's Organic, Peak Organic, Stone Mill Pale Ale and (for those concerned with drinking locally) Baltimore's Clipper City ales.

The happy hour got started last December when Silver Spring-based author Christopher Mark O'Brien arrived for a talk about his book, "Fermenting Revolution: How to Drink Beer and Save the World." The talk was followed by a signing and organic beer tasting, which garnered such a positive response that Busboys has been running the weekly happy hour ever since -- and they don't sell these beers otherwise, so the only time you can get them is at the happy hour. Unfortunately for city mice, there are no plans for the event to migrate to the D.C. location.

$4 beers (bottles). Wednesdays, 4-7 p.m. Busboys and Poets, 4251 S. Campbell Ave., Arlington. 703-379-9756.

I'd recommend all of those beers except Stone Mill, which I'm neutral on. It's organic but is brewed by Anheuser-Busch and shipped in from California. Read more about sustainable beer options here.

Cross-posted from The Green Miles

Virtual Public Art Tour

You know one of the things I love about Arlington? I love all the public art - often times you're walking around and you don't really notice it, but there is a lot of really cool stuff.

Want to get a great overview of Arlington's public art ... without even leaving your office?

Check out this You Tube Arlington Public Art tour -- cool stuff!

The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas

Are you a geeky book reader and a political geek like me?

Want to meet some authors and talk about geeky stuff? How about Clarence Thomas?

Check out the following author event:

June 21, 3 p.m.
Author Event--"Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas"
Central Library Auditorium

Washington Post reporters Kevin Merida and Michael Fletcher will read from and discuss their in-depth biography of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Learn about his emergence from humble beginnings in Pin Point and Savannah Georgia to the most powerful judiciary in the United States. Books will be available for sale and signing at the close of this event.

Looking for more fun things to do in Arlington? Subsribe to the What's Up Arlington! e-newsletter

Making Sidewalks Sparkle

Arlington County is moving forward with plans to allow sidewalk kiosks:

"Kiosks really animate pedestrian zones," Fisette said. "They help create an interesting experience for a person walking."

He has taken photos of kiosks in Burlington, Vt., and noted "wonderful little kiosks" in South Africa last year. Some sold food, others arts and crafts or coffee or flowers. Others rented sports equipment, such as in-line skates or bicycles, provided information or sold tickets.

I've always wondered why you need exact change to get a newspaper at a box outside a Metro station when places like New York City have newsstands outside (or even inside) subway stations. And instead of kiosks for TKTS, we're stuck with fold-out tables featuring people hawking $2 t-shirts.

The Arlington County Planning Commission is supposed to hold a hearing on the proposal in July, though the July meeting agenda is not yet available. In the meantime, you can submit your feedback online.

ACE Solstice Celebration

Want to save the environment? ACE is a great place to start. Check them out with this upcoming event:

ACE Solstice Celebration. Thursday, June 19, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Barcroft Park, 4200 S. Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington.

An evening to enjoy the long daylight hours with four service projects (storm drain marking, invasive plant removal, stream and highway cleanups). Light refreshments will be provided.

Meet at the Barcroft parking garage. Register at volunteer@arlingtonenvironment.org or 703-228-7772.

Free Public Skate and Trophy Viewing

I'm a big CAPS fan, and this has been a very exciting year for the CAPS.

If you work in the Ballston area (or work non-traditional hours) here's your chance to have a free ice skating trophy and view all the awards Ovechkin and company have accumulated this year.

What: Free public skate and trophy viewing


When Friday, June 13, 11 AM - 12:30


Where: Kettler Capitals IcePlex


Why: Free skating and Fans will have the opportunity to view and take pictures with the Art Ross Trophy, the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy and select other major trophies that the Capitals may win the night before at the NHL Awards Show in Toronto.



Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin already claimed the Art Ross (leading scorer) and Richard (leading goal scorer) trophies, and Washington has three finalists for awards that will be presented Thursday night: Ovechkin (Hart Trophy, Lester B. Pearson Award), Nicklas Backstrom (Calder Trophy) and Bruce Boudreau (Jack Adams Award).

Tonight: Rewarding a Bar That's Doing the Right Thing

OK, so have you ever heard of a flash mob?

Well, this guy out in San Francisco decided to use the concept to reward businesses that go green.

And this guy in Arlington decided to completely steal that idea to reward a bar that went smoke-free, putting the idea on Facebook and hoping a few people might show up.

Apparently I'm not the only one sick of Virginia's smoky bars, because a pretty amazing 22 people say they're coming tonight. Although you never can trust those Evite/Facebook RSVP totals, can you?

Anyway, if you're looking for something to do on an otherwise-boring Tuesday night (y'know, besides voting), come to Eleventh in Clarendon tonight from 6-9pm and look for the guy in the green CRM t-shirt.

Capital Fringe Artist Neelam Patel Comes to Arlington

This sounds super cool:

What: Poet and Performance artist Neelam Patel, Stripping Borders

When: June 12 - 15
Where: Theatre on the Run, 3700 S Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington

How much: $15

Why? Earning critical praise for her Capital Fringe Festival appearance, poet and performance artist Neelam Patel newest work fuses dance and poetry to explore the complexity and confusion of the East Indian-American experience in a powerful one-woman performance piece. Sounds super cool.

Note: Containing explicit language and mature themes, Stripping Borders is an adults-only experience and no one under 18 will be admitted.

Envisioning Four Mile Run Drive

I'm not generally a big fan of public meetings. That being said, I've seen enough changes through recent years to know that design processes can turn out some really cool stuff or some really crappy stuff.

If getting involved in envisioning what Four Mile Run will look like in a few years, interests you, here's a great chance to jump in that process.

What: Four Mile Run Restoration Project Open House Meeting
When: June 16, 6:30 - 9:00 PM
Where: Arlington County Parks Operation Building, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 2700 S Taylor Street

Also, check out the website about the project. There's some cool stuff there, including a documentary film.

Interested, but don't want to or can't go to meeting. Leave your thoughts in the comments. What do you think Four Mile Run should look like?

Monday: Wii Bowling Night at EatBar

A friend forwarded me this email announcing a Nintendo Wii Bowling Night at Tallula's EatBar:

C'MON, LET'S GO BOWLING!
JOIN US FOR LEAGUE NIGHT AT EATBAR EVERY MONDAY BEGINNING AT 6 O'CLOCK

The nutty Wii phenomenon has finally hit EatBar! Join us each and every Monday night in the ultra-hip back lounge and bowl on our deluxe new Wii console. No special shoes required, no bowling balls allowed.

Teams of four will play against each other and the winning team with the highest cumulative score will be rewarded with a complimentary round of beers (as well as full bragging rights until the following week). Bring your friends or pair up with others - there are no league fees and no charge to play.

The games will begin promptly at 6 PM, though we encourage you to sign up as early as 5 PM since team play will be granted on a first-come, first-serve basis. League Specials: $3 Miller Genuine Draft Bottles + $4 Lebowski White Russians.

While The Green Miles loves his Wii, I doubt I'll be going to the Wii Bowling Night. It's in EatBar's smoking lounge. Why can't EatBar just go totally smoke-free?

This Goat Has Legs

More on the Arlington Goats Story. This take from Fox News 5

June 8: Crystal Rocks featuring Everclear

Big free concert coming up, this year's edition of Crystal Rocks:

Date: Sunday, June 8, 2008

Location: 2200 Crystal Drive between 23rd & 20th Street

Hours: 2-6PM

Description: Join us for a rockin' time in the heart of Crystal City! Crystal City will be rocking on Sunday, June 8 with the 4th Annual Crystal Rocks Concert. This year's event features ultimate rock band Everclear. Join Everclear at the MIX 107.3 tent after the concert for a brief session of public autograph signings.

Post Concert Event: Also, join Everclear for an after-party to help raise funds for Snowball Express, a non profit-organization who provides hope and new memories for the children and familes of fallen military heros who have died since September 11, 2001, while serving in all branches of the United States military.

Rain or shine, this outdoor concert is FREE to the public. Take Metro Bus/Metro Rail to Crystal City. Free garage parking on weekends. Bring your friends, a blanket and your rhythm! See below for concert rules.

Eric checked out Crystal Rocks a couple of years ago and was thoroughly impressed.

Quick note if you were confused like me -- Crystal Rocks is different than Crystal Block or Crystal Rolls, Crystal City late-summer events.