Leisure

Central Michel Richard’s: only fancy on the outside

Sometimes you just get the urge to go out for a “nice dinner” at a place where, as Homer Simpson put it, they call you “sir” without adding “please leave.” Central Michel Richard, Michel Richard’s attempt to combine a relaxed environment with high-end feel-good food, is a place where you can satisfy that urge. Central is billed as a bistro, and is promoted as a more affordable, more down-to-earth incarnation of Richard’s D.C. flagship Citronelle. While Central succeeds in creating an unpretentious and inviting atmosphere uncharacteristic of fine dining establishments, the quality of food does not live up to expectations

By Vivian Chen October 23, 2008

Leisure

Critical Voices: Deerhunter, “Microcastle”

Fast-forward to 2008: Cox now has two critically-acclaimed bands to his name (Deerhunter and Atlas Sound), Mee has been replaced by Whitney Petty (a former cheerleader), and the band stands on the verge of releasing their third LP, Microcastle. The release is accompanied by more drama from Cox, who accidentally leaked new material from both of his bands a few months ago.

By Daniel Cook October 23, 2008

Leisure

W. is as Dubya does

Like all Oliver Stone productions, W. will bring the controversial and acclaimed director praises of genius and bundles of hate mail. The film, a fictionalized biopic examining our 43rd president, marks Stone’s third venture into the tumultuous genre. Unlike his previous portrayals of American leaders, JFK (1991) and Nixon (1995), W. is being released while George W. Bush is still in office, a fact guaranteed to rile Bush supporters and Stone critics alike.

By Eliott Grover October 23, 2008

Leisure

Home brews

There is a five-gallon jug of beer fermenting in my apartment. I also live with six girls and can drink without impunity in my bedroom; in short, I am living every freshman boy’s dream.

By admin October 23, 2008

Leisure

Angry but riveting

Watching 12 Angry Men is an entirely unique theater experience. It is not meant to play out like traditional theater, but rather as a realistic peek behind closed jury doors. The audience sits on two sides of an open stage and watches events transpire from a number of vantage points, enveloped in the borderline claustrophobic atmosphere as tensions run higher and higher. There is no normal plot progression to speak of, and the costumes and sets play relatively minor roles. The characters are nameless throughout the entirety of the play and their personal backgrounds are barely delved into. The centerpiece of the play is the debate between twelve jurors over the possible guilt or innocence of one man: a powerful and realistic unraveling of assumptions and prejudices.

By Vivian Chen October 23, 2008

Leisure

Halloween matchmaking

The quest for the perfect Halloween costume is like the search for a soulmate: few people ever find one, and most end up settling for some piece of crap their friend picked out.

By Sarah Harman October 23, 2008

Leisure

Eminem-cee

The flower power generation likes to brag about its prized Midwestern white boy with the nasally voice, the one whose lyrics were bizarre but beautiful and heartfelt. It’s a shame our generation has no Dylan—sorry, Conor Oberst—but we do have someone close, though he’s not who you’d expect. You see, this Midwestern white boy with the nasally voice comes from the streets of Detroit, and where Dylan changed the game for vocalists without good voices, Eminem changed the game for emcees with white skin.

By Justin Hunter Scott October 23, 2008

Leisure

Critical Voices: Gang Gang Dance, “Saint Dymphna”

Hundreds of avant-noise bands start their careers banging out a mind-numbing racket in their basements. But only a small handful emerge from that dank womb (still dripping with primordial ooze) to produce something as staggeringly beautiful and conceptually challenging as Gang Gang Dance’s Saint Dymphna.

By Traviss Cassidy October 16, 2008

Leisure

Critical Voices: Dillinger Four, “C I V I L W A R”

Does anyone else miss socially aware pop-punk music? I’m not talking about Green Day and Sum 41’s gimmicky politico-punk balladry, but something more along the lines of what Dillinger Four perfected fourteen years ago. With a shallow catalog of only four full lengths to date, this long-lasting band has finally released its Chinese Democracy in CIVIL WAR, a record six years in the making.

By James McGrory October 16, 2008

Leisure

Dessert it yourself — The New DIY

Although it’s already mid-October, I’ve declared this fall to be the Summer of George! Although the results were mixed for the oft-chunky George Costanza, my roommate Dan and I are all about gettin’ into being healthy and lovin’ love. The first step on our road to healthy living begins where any bildungsroman should, in the dessert aisle.

By Michael Keller October 16, 2008

Leisure

Myth, Moonwalking, and the Mississippi

Black Theater Ensemble’s … And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi sounds like a bait-and-switch, drawing people in with a whimsical title that turns out to be a metaphor. But there really is a Jesus, and he does moonwalk the river in light-up Chuck Taylors. It doesn’t make much sense, but then again neither does the play. Luckily, both are worth seeing anyway.

By Will Sommer October 16, 2008

Leisure

Crossword Solution

By Alexander Pon October 16, 2008

Leisure

Too many Lies in this Body

If you were hoping for Ridley Scott’s latest blockbuster to be in the same league as the director’s critically lauded Roman epoch, 2000’s Gladiator, prepare to be disappointed. Body of Lies is a middling action flick that, though well-made, falls short of Scott’s award-winning masterpiece.

By Eliott Grover October 16, 2008

Leisure

Granny chic

There’s a girl in my art history class who always looks so put together. She wears really great scarves, gold jewelry (nothing too flashy, always tastefully antiqued), cozy looking sweaters, and fabulous tortoiseshell glasses. Her look is very classic and very now, but there’s only one way I can think to describe it: grandma chic. She dresses like an old lady.

By Katherine Norton October 16, 2008

Leisure

Two artists, two visions, one landscape

“Natural Affinities” at the Smithsonian American Art Museum marks the first time in history that the works of painter Georgia O’Keeffe and photographer Ansel Adams have been paired in an exhibition, and it seems long overdue. Both icons of the American art scene, they explore and interpret the landscape of the American southwest in their works, drawing parallels between the land and artistic expression, and pointing toward two distinct visions of the natural world.

By Madeline Reidy October 9, 2008

Leisure

Sure, hop on board another football Express

The Express, Universal Pictures’ latest sports biopic, is guaranteed to please sports and schmaltz lovers of all ages. The story centers on the life of Ernie Davis, the first African American athlete to win college football’s prestigious Heisman Trophy, paying particular attention to the racial barriers he confronted and shattered as a standout running back at Syracuse University.

By Eliott Grover October 9, 2008

Leisure

House cleans up

Yet, what Clean House lacks in subtlety and realism it more than makes up for in punchy dialogue, solid performances, and natural chemistry. Their interactions, whether comic or dramatic, are entertaining and compelling to watch. The cast has great comedic timing, especially Joelle Thomas (SFS ’10) as Virginia. Thomas masters her character’s quirks, making someone who could easily be two dimensional and irksome delightful, yet full of pathos. Her rambling, stream of consciousness monologues hop from a peppy punch line to a heartfelt confession without losing a beat or the audience’s attention.

By Vivian Chen October 9, 2008

Leisure

For whom the bar tolls

U Street has recently come to rival Adams Morgan as the District’s new happening neighborhood, and Bar Pilar is a must if you are looking to see hip young D.C. at its finest. For a dark, low-key ambience hit up the bar between Monday and Thursday; to be a part of a larger, rowdy crowd, come on Friday and Saturday nights—but get there early to get a seat from which to view the action.

By Caitlin Simard October 9, 2008

Leisure

Extra, extra!

Instead I calmed down and mostly forgot about Field Music until last week, when the other Brewis, Peter, released his side project, The Week That Was. I didn’t have high expectations going in—how could he make Field Music without Field Music? But, much to my surprise, he pulled it off. And in my joy I started to remember some other impressive side projects.

By Justin Hunter Scott October 9, 2008