Thursday, February 28, 2013

Rosslyn remembers

Donald Bruce Williams was born on Feb. 17, 1936.  He died on Oct. 3, 2010.  He was buried in Rosslyn's Arlington National Cemetery on Apr. 4, 2011.  The photo above was taken last Sunday.

Bicicleta Rug at Artisphere Design Festival

The Next Wave Industrial Design Festival now at Artisphere includes Nani Marquina & Ariadna Miquel's Bicicleta Rug.  This rug, a prototype manufactured in Spain in 2010, is made from 100% recycled bicycle inner tubes.  It feels like a cross between a shag rug and a waterbed.  Not recommended for households with dogs or cats.  Experience what it feels like for yourself at Artisphere!

The Ode Street Tribune has been a strong advocate for old bike inner tubes even while enduring a stinging backlash from the duct-tape community.  This innovative, European-designed rug vindicates the Tribune's old bike inner tube position. 

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Realize Rosslyn public workshops March 13, 14

Public workshops for the Rosslyn Sector Plan update (Realize Rosslyn) will be held on Wednesday, March 13 at 7pm and on Thursday, March 14 at 6:30pm.  Both workshops will be held at Artisphere in Rosslyn.  The workshop website explains:
These workshops will cover what we’ve learned thus far during the kick-off events and other stakeholder interviews, allow us all to dive deeper on key topics, and put together what we’ve learned. While event agendas and details are currently being finalized, these events will include a combination of technical presentations, topic-based breakout groups delving into specific themes, and open houses aimed at achieving the following workshop goals:
  • Engage diverse stakeholder voices
  • Explore major plan topics in detail
  • Share results of analysis
  • Invite and explore new ideas
  • Integrate strategies for transportation, public places and building form/use into a coherent, broadly shared vision
  • Set the stage to create more specific plan and implementation strategies
When you attend the meeting, don't forget to advocate for the Rosslyn Boathouse and Rosslyn river access.

In other Rosslyn-related news, the International Herald Tribune is giving up the Tribune brand name in the face of the Tribune name's growing association with Rosslyn local news.   The Ode Street Tribune applauds this move and will continue to support other news sources that some might regard as competitors. The Chicago Tribune is rumored to be looking for a buyer.  The Ode Street Tribune refuses to comment on its plans for business expansion.

Monday, February 25, 2013

crippled, abandoned bike has value

Persons walking along Rosslyn's fashionable 1500 block of Wilson Blvd. confront the horrifying sight of a crippled, abandoned bike, bleeding profusely and pining for use.  The young mechanical wizards at local bike shop Phoenix Bikes surely could make good use of this bike.  A bike is a terrible thing to waste.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Thursday, February 21, 2013

International Design Festival opens in Rosslyn

The Next Wave: Industrial Design Innovation in the 21st Century opened in Rosslyn at Artisphere today.  At this exhibit, you can browse what seems like objects collected from cutting-edge high-brow European home furnishing stores:
Featuring one-offs, prototypes and pieces in production concentrating on the areas of eco-friendly design, functionality and minimalism, the conceptual and the avant-garde, over 100 objects will be on view, ranging from lighting, furniture, textile, and product, to electronics, housewares, tools and interactive design.  
If you like shopping, you'll like this exhibit.  Since most of the objects aren't for sale, the potential danger is more yearning than spending.  Go ahead, indulge your eyes!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Realize Rosslyn

Tonight's Radnor Ft. Myer Heights Civic Assocation (RAFOM) meeting featured Brian Harner, Chairman, Arlington County Planning Commission, and Bob Duffy, Arlington County Planning Director.  Harner worked in Rosslyn in the 1990s and has spent much time walking the streets of Rosslyn and thinking about how to make it a great place. He is very enthusiastic about Rosslyn's future. Duffy was hired by Arlington as Planning Director about six months ago.  He seems already quite knowledgeable about the Arlington planning process.

Harner's and Duffy's presentations were oriented toward the Rosslyn Sector Plan Update, called Realize Rosslyn.  Considerable information about Realize Rosslyn is available on the web.  All residents should take the online survey about making Rosslyn even greater.  The second public workshop for Realize Rosslyn will be held in mid-March.  The current schedule is to present the Realize Rosslyn plan to the County Board late this fall.

Other items from the RAFOM meeting:
  • The Pierce-Queen St. project is still before the Site Plan Review Committee.  This project could add a 12-story building with 186 units.
  • As part of the Arlington PLACE initiative, the County Board will hold open-door meetings at various County libraries on Monday evenings starting in March.
  • RAFOM is preparing a letter about its concerns about the use permit for the year-round homeless shelter being built next to the Arlington courthouse building.  One resident spoke in favor of requesting that the homeless shelter not house homeless persons who had been convicted of a felony. Another resident spoke against such a restriction.  Several other attendees at the meeting also opposed such a restriction.  Being convicted of a felony doesn't make a person a perpetual danger to the community. Moreover, cold, hungry homeless persons treated as pariahs are more dangerous than persons given a fair chance to recover from homelessness, crime, and punishment.  What the RAFOM Board is going to say about the matter in its letter isn't clear.
  • RAFOM Board member Jim Villars noted that the art atrium of the Bennett Park Apartments has shown no signs of activity.  In 2008, the Ode Street Tribune unsuccessfully sought information about how this space would be used. It seems to have used very little. That's a terrible waste.  More generally, community benefits associated with site plan approvals need ongoing tracking and monitoring.
  • The police report for the area offers no special cause for concern. Captain Penn mentioned that persons should not leave personal belongings such as phones and purses unattended. Also, don't leave your clothes unwatched in a store dressing room. You could wind up having to buy new clothes without the wallet in your old clothes.
The next RAFOM meeting will be on March 19.  The feature speakers will address the metro, transportation, and parking.

Monday, February 18, 2013

broken glass in Ft. Myer Heights Park

Numerous pieces of broken glass are scattered in the struggling grass of Ft. Myer Heights Park.  The glass is hazardous to dogs walking in the park and to children playing in the park.  The glass appears to be well-embedded in the soil.  Two keen-eyed neighbors observed glass mixed into the fill that was added to the park to repair damage from the Deep Soil Rosslyn Water Spill.  The perpetually forthcoming children's playground to be constructed in the park might address the glass issue with an additional layer of clean dirt.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

art in Artisphere's men's bathroom

Artisphere's men's bathroom features a faux readymade installation.  On the front wall of a bathroom stall is printed, much more formally than normal bathroom graffiti:
Correction

In last week's issue of 
Community Life, a picture 
caption listed some unusual
gourmet dishes that were en-
joyed at a Westwood Library
party for students enrolled in 
a tutorial program for con-
versational English.  Mai Thai 
Finn is one of the students in 
the program and was in the 
center of the photo.  We in-
correctly listed her name as 
one of the items on the menu. 
Community Life regrets the 
error.  

Pascack Valley (N.J.) 
Community Life 2/25/81
This correction is a realistic representation of the challenges of local journalism, and it shows the integrity of a high-quality local news source.  Yet the installation also references the large body of newspaper-related art recently on display in the National Gallery's exhibit, Shock of the News.  It also circumstantially gestures toward Marcel Duchamp's Fountain, behind only Masterwork in Bluish as the most influential modern art work of the past century.

In other Rosslyn art news, Leo the Anti-Gravity Show filled Rosslyn's Spectrum Theatre tonight.  With simultaneous video and live performance, the show brilliantly played with viewing orientation.  The audience loved the show.  The Ode Street Tribune pledges to follow the example of the Leo Anti-Gravity Show more often.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

new Rosslyn rest area for trail travelers


The above ramp just outside the north gate of Rosslyn's Arlington National Cemetery takes travelers to a nice spot to stop and enjoy the view of Rosslyn and the cemetery.  Perhaps a picnic table will be installed at this spot in the future.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

new improvements to Rosslyn thoroughfare

New off-ramps and on-ramps have been constructed on the Virginia-Rosslyn-Washington multi-user superhighway in front of the north gate of Rosslyn's Arlington National Cemetery.  In addition, a curb has been installed on the road paralleling the downhill section of the superhighway east of the gate.  In past winters, water flowing across the road and onto the superhighway has made it into a sheet of ice.  The new curb should limit ice buildup.  That's a major improvement.

Rosslyn is a bicycle friendly community.  Any day is a good day to ride your bike home from work.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Clarendon Mardi Gras parade

Persons venturing merely a mile from the center of Rosslyn tonight had the opportunity to enjoy the Clarendon Mardi Gras parade. The Bolivian folkdance La Diablada was the hottest act of the parade. Countdown to Yuri's Night, upcoming on April 13 at Artisphere, had the most creative float.  Full video coverage above.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Arlington Ridge Park renamed


One of the many well-informed readers of the Ode Street Tribune has commented that the National Park Service calls Rosslyn's large, beautiful national park "Arlington Ridge Park."  The National Park Service website for Arlington Ridge Park notes:
The park is one of the most heavily visited park sites in the national capital region, with thousands traveling there yearly. It also functions as a neighborhood park for nearby residents. However, highway construction and cemetery expansion have isolated the parcel and diminished its public accessibility to the point that it has adopted more of the characteristics of community use rather than national interest. {emphasis added}
The most relevant neighborhood and community for the park is Rosslyn.  Moreover, the park is much more magnificent than the term "ridge" indicates.  The name "Arlington Ridge Park" is thus completely inappropriate. That name is also virtually unknown even among long-time Rosslyn residents.

The park should be renamed through an open, participatory democratic process.  But the Ode Street Tribune is not afraid to take dramatic action to confront a neighborhood crisis.  The Tribune will operate under a continuing resolution to call the park "Rosslyn Vista Park" until a new park name is formally adopted.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

name Rosslyn's large, beautiful national park

Rosslyn has a large, beautiful national park that includes the hallowed Iwo Jima Memorial and the Netherlands Carillon.  The park has a spectacular view of national monuments in Washington, DC.  In the summer, the park hosts the most active beach scene within 50 miles of the Greater Rosslyn Metropolitan Area.  The park is a prime location for picture-taking and kite-flying.  Yet the park doesn't have its own name.

The park is officially known only as an unnamed part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.  Some unofficially call the park Arlington Ridge.  But that's not an official name, nor is it a distinguished and appropriate name.

Rosslyn's largest park needs its own name.  The Ode Street Tribune calls on all residents to mobilize, organize, and rally until Rossly's largest park gets its own good name.  Some suggestions:
  1. Rosslyn National Memorial Park
  2. Rosslyn National Special Honor Park
  3. Rosslyn Memorial Vista Park
  4. Rosslyn National Military Remembrance Park
  5. Rosslyn National Ceremonial Park
Rosslyn's largest greenspace should not be named after a long strip of asphalt.  We must honorably, civilly, and insistently demand proper recognition for Rosslyn's national park.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

wide range of fashions on sale at Crystal Couture

Rosslyn residents seeking to maintain their neighborhood's reputation for elegance and style should head to Crystal Couture for a wide range of boutique fashions from local designers.  Crystal Couture is on every night this week from 6pm to 10pm at 251 18th St in Crystal City.  That's right next to the Crystal City metro, a Capital Bikeshare station, and additional own-bike parking.  Now is the time to add more special sparkle to your wardrobe.
Philissa Williams of Thembe Fashions told the Ode Street Tribune that she was a bike courier before she became a fashion designer.  While bike couriers are generally known as a grungy, hard-scrabble crew, Philissa pioneered being a skirt-wearing bike courier.  Now she offers clothing ranging from casual to evening gowns.  She says that she refuses to wear any clothing that does not allow her to ride a bike.  Check out Philissa's fashion line for clothes that allow you to be active.
Speak Vintage showed bombshell vintage clothing.  These fashions could put you in the spotlight in the Art Deco Society Vintage Fashion Show.  Don't worry if the fashion world has passed you by.  You can go backwards with clothing from Speak Vintage.
Another of the distinguished designers at this year's Crystal Couture is Christopher Schafer.  He designs men's formal wear.   But he doesn't just work with investment bankers. He recently put together a suit for a member of Jane's Addiction, an alternative hard-rock/metal band.  So if you're a head-banger, a martini sipper, or both, and you need to look sharp, Christipher Schafer can help you out.
Afua Sam of Studio D'Maxsi Designs mixes cloth from her Ghanian heritage with creative ideas from around the world to create gorgeous custom gowns.  She had a dress among the Grammy Awards nominees and another on a mover-and-shaker in the recent Obama presidential inauguration.  Her dad was a musician, and a sense of rhythm, color counterpoint, and compositional unity characterizes her fashion work.  She makes custom dresses for women of all sizes.
Many other interesting fashion designers are at Crystal Couture.  Nelly Kolodny of NeuNel is a Ph.D. Chemist turned fashion designer.  She offers elegant European clothing.  She is also exploring technofabrics with bionic membranes that respond to the human body.  Gennet Purcell of Maven Designs said that it takes her a week's work to sew a custom dress.  And she has produced dresses on that tight of a deadline.  Mi Chic, a mother-daughter family business, has opened a boutique store in Washington, DC, that sells ready-to-war casual/contemporary clothes.  Mom has been in the fashion business, including sewing custom clothes, for about two decades.  Hush is a born and raised in Washington, DC, fashion brand and boutique.  Why buy some Madison Avenue label when you can get real, personal, custom fashion?
In addition to boutique fashions, Crystal Couture also offers runway shows and free make-up and hair makeovers.  Indulge, splurge, and prepare to be seen on the streets of Rosslyn.

Monday, February 4, 2013

troubling and inspiring crane clock at Artisphere

Cranes are common figures in East Asian culture and the Rosslyn skyscape.  Si Jae Byun's magnificent installation Crane Clock (2012), now ticking at Artisphere, exposes the inner tensions between regularly rising new buildings and delicate, organic life.  Those tensions echo and re-interpret David Amoroso's portrait exhibit Delicate/Violent (Delicado/Violento), now on display in Artisphere's Mezz Gallery.  In Byun's installation, the relentless clock of the circling construction crane does not overcome the delicate beauty of the small, circling bird.  The winged crane smoothly moves through the shadow of the construction crane and periodically emerges into bright light.  The vista below the crane duo is both jagged and visceral.  The regular, audible breathing is comforting.

The video below shows an inner projection of Crane Clock.  There's fear, but it is ultimately dispelled with time.  Urban development need not be inhuman and overwhelming.  It can support small, fragile organisms.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Rosslyn Metro has covered bike parking

Looking in from the main entrance, the Rosslyn Metro station has bike parking hidden in the back right corner of the station.  You don't need a metro ticket to access the bike parking.  This is good, free covered bike parking for when you ride your bike to downtown Rosslyn.