Monday, October 31, 2011

Marine Corps after-marathon


Rosslyn's world-famous Marine Corps Marathon had 20,895 finishers this year.  Cleaning up after all these runners is another, under-appreciated marathon.  The area around the Netherlands Carillon is currently muddy and filled with deserted tents. You can almost feel the ghosts of all those runners struggling up the final hill.  This would be a scary place to visit on Halloween night.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

RAFOM candidates' forum

Candidates for local elected offices gave presentations and answered questions at this past Wednesday night's Radnor/Ft. Myer (RAFOM) Civic Association meeting.  The decisions of local officials probably have a greater effect on your day-to-day quality of life than do the decisions of state and national officials, so good local government has great practical importance.  Linked below are videos of the candidates' opening statements and response statements.  Also included are links to the candidates websites.   Caren Merrick, candidate for the Senate of Virginia, 31st District, was the only candidate who did not appear at the forum.  The general election is on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011.

Senate of Virginia, 31st District
 House of Delegates, 48th District
Commonwealth's Attorney
Sheriff 
Commissioner of Revenue
Treasurer
County Board (two seats)
School Board

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Morroys deliver singing endorsement of Stamos


Arlington Commissioner of Revenue Ingrid Morroy and her twin sister Judith Morroy delivered a singing endorsement of Theo Stamos for Commonwealth Attorney earlier this year.  Theo Stamos won her primary contest and is now running unopposed for Commonwealth Attorney.  Ingrid Morroy is running unopposed for re-election as Commissioner of the Revenue.  Complete coverage of these and other candidates' presentations at this past Wednesday night's RAFOM candidate forum is upcoming on the Ode Street Tribune this Saturday.

Ingrid and Judith Morroy are members of the Arlington-based, alternative-world-music band, The Constituents.  In an interview with the Ode Street Tribune at the candidate's forum, Morroy said that she considered giving a musical presentation of her program initiatives for 2012-2015. She also said that her twin sister had considered running against her.  The Ode Street Tribune supports and participates in such forms of public-spirited entertainment. That can help to get more residents involved with local public affairs.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

People's Garden still growing

The People's Garden at Arlington Central Library currently has some magnificent collards, broccoli, and bok choi.  These have grown from plantings made in August in conjunction with a fall gardening talk at the library.  Bok choi is particularly tasty sauteed in olive oil in a cast-iron skillet.  If you're eating lifeless iceberg lettuce, you've need to get informed and get inspired by going to the library.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

bikeshare station needed in Ft. Myer Heights neighborhood

BikeArlington and Capital Bikeshare are looking for community input on where to locate new bikeshare stations.  Go and register your preference on the interactive bikeshare proposal map

Bikeshare planning has identified Rosslyn's Ft. Myer Heights neighborhood as a propitious location for a bikeshare station.  A  bikeshare station would facilitate visiting the many friendly and interesting persons who live in the Ft. Myer Heights neighborhood.  A bikeshare station would support traffic to the Quarterdeck restaurant for excellent crabs and a chance to be in the company of famous athletes, as well as aid tourists interested in viewing historically important buildings, award-winning landscaping, the Ode Street Tribune's corporate headquarters, and the Iwo Jima Memorial.  Residents in the Ft. Myer Heights neighborhood could also use the bikeshare station for visiting the attractions of downtown Rosslyn, including its musically distinguished metro.

Monday, October 24, 2011

changing light bulbs

An Arlington County worker single-handedly changed three burnt-out streetlight bulbs on N. 12th St. last week.  The Ode Street Tribune has heard many reports that it takes up to ten persons to change a light bulb (reports vary as to the persons' occupations).   Without the help of Arlington County workers, many Arlington residents would be in the dark.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

dancing beyond the stage

With the program Dance:Films at Artisphere this past Friday night, Maida Withers presented dance on film, and dance in person, and dances between.  The opening piece, a dance portrait of Maida, used digital video effects to place Maida dancing within a light bulb. The piece showed her efforts to to make her ideas visible.  Far from being merely allegorically or artificially represented, those efforts were made present through the whole program.

Withers, who has resided in the Rosslyn area for 46 years, is irrepressibly and fearlessly creative.  She is at least in her mid-sixties.  Many persons much younger than she relate to their bodies mainly through complaining of aches and illnesses.  She continues to express herself bodily through dance.

At the same time, this elderly dancer-choreographer is exploring new media technology.  One piece for example, involved Alex Caldiero composing text real-time in Salt Lake City, Utah, in an online Google document that Withers also simultaneously edited.  The text was projected onto the dome theater's curved wall as a counterpoint to the live dancing in a piece called Collision Course, a.k.a. Pillow Talk.  Online presentations and demonstrations are notorious for failing. Withers isn't afraid of technology even when there's good reason to be.

In addition to creating dance settings through digital video effects, Withers also uses distinctive dance-site locations.  This Friday's performance premiered Tuk, a film incorporating footage of Withers and her Dance Construction Company dancing in the wonderful, stark landscape of the Four Corners Area of the Southwest U.S.  Another film, entitled Thresholds Crossed - Gulag/Art Angar, showed Withers and Anthony Gongora dancing in what was a dirigible hangar on the Soviet Gulag's Solovki Island.  The dance incorporated gestures and bodily positions from photographs of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.  It is a terrifying tango.  Being able to watch it over and over again as a video adds greatly to the terror.

Other pieces showed other aspects of dance in relation to film.  Tsveta Kassabova did a beautiful, live dance portrait full of subtle, expressive movement.  That piece was followed by a related film showing Kassabova dancing in a digitally created, psychedelic environment.  The film somewhat flattened her movement, while adding a much larger canvas of whimsy. Perhaps 3-D digital film would better represent Kassabova.  Orbit, a filmed dance duet, was transformed by the camera into a ménage à trois.  This film, which was produced with only 11 edits, showed that more powerful video technology isn't necessary for a more powerful video effect.

The least appealing aspect of Friday night's program was the long, slow-moving line to buy a ticket.  The Ode Street Tribune's reporter was in line about 7:45 and didn't get into the Dome Theater until about a half-hour later.  Only one person was handling ticket purchases, and the procedure for purchasing a ticket was very slow.  Artisphere seemed to be ill-prepared for the full-house crowd that attended the program.  Artisphere's ticket-purchase procedures need to be revised to cope with the growing success of its programs.

Artists such as Maida Withers help to enlarge the creative space for exploding popular video communication.  That need is particularly important in journalism.  Many video news programs remain mired in a talking-head video format that is largely based on conventions from reporting news via radio.  Leading local news sources such as the Ode Street Tribune have turned to more creative video formats to address particular stories.  All news organizations that want to bring their reporting into the video present should watch and learn from Maida Withers.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

white oak's leaves turning red


Leaves are turning red on the significant white oak at 1210 N. Taft St. This tree has an impressive breast-area diameter of 42 inches.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Rosslyn leads development in Arlington


If you look carefully at this 1861 map (click on it for a bigger image), you can see Rosslyn labeled just across from the island in the Potomac.  The bluff, which was the rise now most apparent going up to the Netherlands Carillon and to the Arlington House mansion in Arlington Cemetery, is labeled Arlington Heights.  Just south of Arlington Heights is Hunter's Chapel.  That's the area now at the intersection of Columbia Pike and Glebe Rd.  Other than these historical curiosities, Rosslyn is the only point labeled in Arlington.  Draw your own conclusions about the rightful territory of Rosslyn.

For those doubters, here's another map, this one from 1865, clearly labeling Rosslyn.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

map of Rosslyn in 1857


In 1857, Rosslyn was at the intersection of a road heading west, and one heading south.  In addition, a road ran east of that intersection out onto Mason's Island, now known as Theodore Roosevelt's Island.  The existence of these roads indicates the early importance of the Rosslyn area.

Monday, October 17, 2011

12-story apartment building replacing large tree

A new, 12-story apartment building has been approved for construction at the western corner of N. Troy St. and N. Fairfax Dr. in Rosslyn.  The building will replace a significant white-oak tree with breast-area diameter a full 36 inches.  The loss of this large-breasted tree comes as the neighborhood is still mourning the execution of two trees in Ft. Myer Heights Park earlier this year.

The construction will preserve the historic, adjacent Wakefield Manor and Courthouse Manor apartment buildings.  Noted architect Mihran Mesrobian designed these buildings as well as the Hay-Adams Hotel and St. Regis Hotel in Washington, DC.  Mesrobian designed Wakefield Manor and Courthouse Manor only a few years before the historically important Westmoreland Terrace Condominiums were built.

Additional information:

Thursday, October 13, 2011

kids excited about forthcoming park

This past weekend, kids decorated the the concrete about a bench and the adjacent sidewalk of Ft. Myer Heights Park.  If you study the art carefully, you will observed the inscription "sweet dreams" and representations of play equipment.  Evidently the artists are young Ode Street Tribune readers who are aware of the forthcoming new Ft. Myer Heights Park playground.   The kids are happy, and you should be, too.


Wednesday, October 12, 2011

pedestrian signal out at Ft. Myer & Lee

The pedestrian signal on the northwest corner of the intersection of Ft. Myer Dr. and Lee Highway has stopped working.  Persons who walk into Rosslyn from Georgetown for an enjoyable evening cross this intersection when returning to Georgetown via the western side of Rosslyn's Key Bridge.  The width of the crossing and the speed of cars approaching the red light make the non-functioning pedestrian signal particularly hazardous. 

Bicycle and pedestrian safety issues in Gateway Park / Key Bridge area are currently being considered. Lessening the danger at the nearby Lynn St. and Lee Highway intersection is likely to require major changes.  The non-functioning pedestrian signal, in contrast, is a simple problem.  It should be fixed as quickly as a non-functioning vehicle traffic signal would be fixed.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Arlington Mercury brings more local news

The Arlington Mercury is a new local news source.  It provides original reporting from boots on the ground in Arlington.  The Arlington Mercury began operations a couple of months ago under the leadership of Steve Thurston and L. Carol Ritchie.  Thurston was the editor of the insightful and clear-headed, but now defunct, Buckingham HeraldTribblog.  The Arlington Mercury is a worthy and more ambitious new venture.

The Arlington Mercury recently ran an excellent investigative piece on backyard chickens and the chicken code.  The Merc actually located and interviewed a resident harboring covert chickens.  With traditional journalistic care, the Merc carefully maintained the anonymity of its source.  The only weakness of the story was the Merc's failure to ask tough questions about roosters.  Are roosters louder and more bothersome than the many planes passing over Rosslyn and other areas of Arlington?  Would roosters in fact create a better sonic landscape in the neighborhood?  And what about the tender needs of hens and chicks?

The Ode Street Tribune has pioneered fearless, avant-garde local news reporting.  But there's plenty of room for more hardworking and dedicated local journalists.  Enjoy the Arlington Mercury, and shower appreciation, praise, and honor on your local news sources!

Monday, October 10, 2011

no left turn from Marshall Dr. onto Route 110

Traffic cannot turn left at the intersection of Marshall Dr. and Route 110.  Cars are frequently seen doing a u-turn on Marshall Dr. just over the crest of the hill from the entrance road to the Iwo Jima Memorial.  At the recent RAFOM meeting, a resident suggested putting a no-left turn sign before the entrance to the Iwo Jima.  That's an excellent idea.  Then smart drivers would reverse direction by entering the park and going around the Iwo Jima Memorial.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

labor strife suspends Tribune

After a five-hour meeting among with the directors, the managing editor, the chief of staff, and all the department editors and sub-editors, the publisher ordered the Ode Street Tribune's management consultant to draft a reprimand statement.  The Tribune's reporter is to be reprimanded for a lack of balance in the stories he filed over the past week. Via a regrettable leak, the reporter evidently learned of the forthcoming reprimand.  He stormed out of the Tribune's headquarters late Friday afternoon after hollering, "You [expletive deleted] suits have no [expletive deleted] idea about [expletive deleted] real news!"

While the Tribune requires its reporter to work on weekends, his whereabouts are not currently known. A sub-editor has a promising lead on where the reporter will be this weekend, but unfortunately lacks staff to follow-up on the lead.  Meanwhile, the Tribune remains actively seeking journalists.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

art for a bus at Artisphere


At Artisphere's Works in Progress Gallery, Victor Ekpuk is working on making art for one of Arlington's ART buses.  He'll be in the Works in Progress Gallery this weekend from 11am to 3pm, Saturday and Sunday.  You can watch him in action, talk with him, and try your hand at making your own drawings.  Drop in!


Special notice: The one place to be this weekend is Artisphere's One Birthday Extravaganza

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

community quilt at Artisphere

The past June in Artisphere's Works In Progess Gallery, Michael Booker created a community quilt from material bits of memories that community members donated. This community quilt is now on display just inside the entrance to Artisphere. 

Special notice: Be part of the community at Artisphere.  Anyone and everyone is invited to the One Birthday celebration at Artisphere this weekend!

Monday, October 3, 2011

pen-and-ink landscape photography at Artisphere

Contrasts by Andrew Zimmerman is now on display in Artisphere's  Mezz Gallery.  Contrasts is an exhibition of black-and-white landscape photographs shot in Colorado in summer and winter.  The patterns in the landscapes and the density of the prints is extraordinary -- they look like pen-and-ink drawings.  Unlike most landscape photographs, the beauty in these landscape photographs is at a high level of abstraction.  Yet they are also utterly realistic.  See Contrasts at Artisphere through November 2.

Special notice: the globe will be transformed at Artisphere this weekend for its blowout birthday bash.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Artisphere blowout birthday bash next weekend

Artisphere will be turning one year old next week, and it's throwing a blowout birthday bash to celebrate.  The celebration will feature, in the spirit of Artisphere, a whole, wide world of activities.  Sunday, Oct. 9, from noon to 6pm will be a free arts open house for all ages.  It will include animated films in the Dome Theatre, salsa lessons for all ages and abilities, a chance to make art with extraordinary young artist Augie Webster, the freedom to bang hands on drums,  a special program of performance art, opera, shadow puppetry, and avant-garde classical theater

Saturday night, Oct. 9, from 8pm to late, late, late will be the huge 1 Party.  Everybody who's anyone will be there.  Local artist Brian Stansfield has created a site-specific video for the celebration.  Party participants will be able to download original music to accompany the video.  The whole event promises to be psycho-sensational.

You may not like everything at Artisphere, but you're gonna love something.  What if you don't like any form of art whatsoever?  What if you don't even like anything that begins with the letter "a"?  Then come for the free birthday cake.  Free birthday cake at Artisphere next Sunday afternoon!