Jay [Life in the District]

The White Stripes, Elephant

by Jay

With The White Stripes coming to DC this November, it’s time to take a closer look at their last release, Elephant. New Life in the District contributor Jay Newell cuts through the hype and gets to the heart of this massive album.

Fringe Festival

The Capital Fringe Festival starts on July 19 and runs through the 29th. The non-traditional performing arts festival provides an outlet for DC area fringe artists, offers new and current works produced in unusual spaces, and merges exploratory artists with a wider audience.

DC Street View in the Works!

When it comes to “cool” web features, DC tends to be the forgotten city thanks to the larger/closer to the action metropolitan areas in this country (you hear, me, Google Transit! I’m still waiting to be freed from the tyranny of WMATA’s Station Master!). I’m happy to report that Google Maps Street View of The District is in the works. Alert pedestrian Andy Carvin stumbled upon a Google Force (a.k.a Immersive Media) car going about its business earlier today. (Privacy freaks, before you jump on the anti-Google bandwagon, consider this thoughtful Freakonomics take on the Street View issue.)

Ford’s Theatre Closed

As of June 1, 2007 Ford’s Theatre Historic Site — both theatre and museum — will be closed to the public for renovations. (The Petersen House, the House Where Lincoln Died will remain open for visitors 9 am until 5 pm daily.)

Architectural Textiles at The Textile Museum

While current exhibition Red is getting all the promotional buzz, I recommend you take a few minutes (15 if you’re a quick browser, 30 if you like to stroll) to check out The Textile Museum’s other exhibition, Architectural Textiles: Tent Bands of Central Asia. Sounds like a snooze fest, but seeing the creativity and attention to detail that goes into decorating what would otherwise be a humdrum engineering element (crucial to keeping trellis tents from collapsing) was fascinating — and worth the five dollar “recommended donation” for this “free” exhibit. Stretch your visit out a few more minutes by watching the short video at the start of the tour that shows a trellis tent being assembled.

Citywide Public Meeting on the DC Pedestrian Master Plan

The DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) recently launched the first DC Pedestrian Master Plan that examines all aspects of improving the city’s pedestrian environment. A public meeting is being held to introduce the plan’s purpose and scope, announce the results of the citywide online survey and obtain community feedback. Walk, bike, or Metro over to the Columbia Heights Recreational Center on Thursday, May 3 to give d. a piece of your walking mind. More info here and here.