The DC101 Chili Cook-Off will be at the RFK Stadium Grounds in Lot 7 of RFK Stadium. This is an annual chili cook off and rock concert event that attracts guests from all over. General admission tickets are $35 in advance and $60 at the gate if tickets are still available the day of the show. Ticketmaster service fees apply for the advance tickets. Proceeds from the cook-off are donated to the National Capital Area chapter of the National Kidney Foundation.
The Chili competition is excellent. The cook-off portion of the event involves a competition between 101 chili cooks in four major categories: Salsa, Freestyle, Red Chili and Green Chili. The winner in the Red Chili category goes on to that year's International Chili Society World Championship.
This year's concert portion will feature modern rock acts like; Incubus, Cake, The Airborne Toxic Event, Angels & Airwaves, AWOLNATION, Neon Trees, Civil Twilight, and Twin Atlantic.
For more information check their website here.
And be sure to get your tickets early as they increase in price as the event gets closer.
--Krystal
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Sunday, April 29, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Speak Up and Speak Out
There are so many events both fortunate and unfortunate that have been occurring throughout the world. Policies that are being changed, new people in power, laws amended and all of these occurrences impact the way we live our lives. Many of us just take this changes and continue with our lives as if things are due to be changed, but sometimes things don't need to be changed just because rather should be changed for the betterment of the people.
Contraception. This has been a major discussion for several months. There is a new law that requires insurance companies to provide contraception with no co-pays or deductibles, as part of the Affordable Care Act. Lawmakers barred women from testifying at a Congressional hearing about the regulation, because they said it wasn't appropriate. Access to affordable birth control affects women and their families in ways that many people don't realize. Being able to control if and when women get pregnant allows women to go to school and have careers.
Laws like these should give everyone the urge to want to stand up and speak out. The only way for people to get the rights they deserve is by voicing them.
I feel that many times people just continue to sit back and take what comes when they should be determining the outcome.
Just a few things to think about.
--Krystal
Contraception. This has been a major discussion for several months. There is a new law that requires insurance companies to provide contraception with no co-pays or deductibles, as part of the Affordable Care Act. Lawmakers barred women from testifying at a Congressional hearing about the regulation, because they said it wasn't appropriate. Access to affordable birth control affects women and their families in ways that many people don't realize. Being able to control if and when women get pregnant allows women to go to school and have careers.
Laws like these should give everyone the urge to want to stand up and speak out. The only way for people to get the rights they deserve is by voicing them.
I feel that many times people just continue to sit back and take what comes when they should be determining the outcome.
Just a few things to think about.
--Krystal
Friday, April 20, 2012
Misuse of Technology
Yesterday I blogged about technology allowing for certain boundaries to be crossed and a disruption of work/life balance.
Today, I wanted to further that conversation about the misuse of technology in office culture.
Another way that technology has allowed individuals to cross boundaries in their professional and personal lives is with online content. Things that are posted on one's facebook page, for example, can be viewed on google. Pictures, youtube videos, searches, facebook, twitter, online blogs, and news articles from any point in time can all be discovered simply by googling a person's name. No longer can anyone merely go to work and conduct themselves in a particular manner in that environment and then entirely separate their personal life, where they might conduct themselves differently. If you enjoy partying, chancers are your employer has found out about it, and might judge you based on this information, despite the way you conduct yourself during office hours.
This is also the way, as I have mentioned before, that we treat our politicians and celebrities. They no longer just do their job, they must behave upstandingly in the public eye at all times, because we are interested in their personal lives.
Technology is a great advantage and the Internet has a wealth of information, but it is often misused. It is not acceptable for an employer to make a decision about you with personal and private information; they ought only be able to pass judgement given what they know about you professionally and in the realm of the work that you do. Many employers are even asking for online passwords, which has been equated with "asking for the keys to your house."
What do you think about employers using the Internet to find out about candidates or current employees?
--Megan
Today, I wanted to further that conversation about the misuse of technology in office culture.
Another way that technology has allowed individuals to cross boundaries in their professional and personal lives is with online content. Things that are posted on one's facebook page, for example, can be viewed on google. Pictures, youtube videos, searches, facebook, twitter, online blogs, and news articles from any point in time can all be discovered simply by googling a person's name. No longer can anyone merely go to work and conduct themselves in a particular manner in that environment and then entirely separate their personal life, where they might conduct themselves differently. If you enjoy partying, chancers are your employer has found out about it, and might judge you based on this information, despite the way you conduct yourself during office hours.
This is also the way, as I have mentioned before, that we treat our politicians and celebrities. They no longer just do their job, they must behave upstandingly in the public eye at all times, because we are interested in their personal lives.
Technology is a great advantage and the Internet has a wealth of information, but it is often misused. It is not acceptable for an employer to make a decision about you with personal and private information; they ought only be able to pass judgement given what they know about you professionally and in the realm of the work that you do. Many employers are even asking for online passwords, which has been equated with "asking for the keys to your house."
What do you think about employers using the Internet to find out about candidates or current employees?
--Megan
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Technology in the Workplace
There is no doubt that technology, in particular the Internet, has changed the way we work. We can correspond with people in multiple different ways. We can send and share information instantly. There is a wealth of information to use daily and we expect near instant answers from people we e-mail..
It is obvious that technology has improved office efficiency and created new ways to work, even allowing some flexibility with when and where people work.
As I am at the beginning of my working career, I have never known work without Internet, computers, fax machines, scanners/copiers, e-mail, chat, Skype, and other forms of technology. It is interesting to imagine the daily work and office culture before Internet and e-mail were so widely used in the workplace. I spoke with someone recently who said, "It's healthy to do physical, tangible work so you can step back and see what you've accomplished. At the end of a day at a computer, what have you really done?" I laughed, because I know that feeling all too well.
Another dilemma with the so-called freedom that comes with being able to work anywhere and at anytime: you are always available anywhere and at anytime. Your employer can reach you while you're on vacation, send you e-mails at 8:30pm or on a Saturday, and you can feel the need to "just get a little done" over the weekend because you can. When the Internet was originally introduced, it was projected that because of more efficiency in the workplace, work hours could be reduced. On the contrary, people are working increasingly more hours and have found work invasive. Laptops and smart phones are helpful, but they are also hard to ignore. Boundaries have been stretched and expectations raised. Your co-workers know you can be reached and will expect a response despite the hour or day of the week. Correspondence is expected immediately; deadlines are moved up.
Mixing work and technology is beneficial in many ways, but I think often people are not sure how to set boundaries between personal and professional lives. What is on one hand a convenience is also a leash, tethering us to our work and making us constantly at the disposal of our employers. How can we set boundaries in order to protect ourselves from this constant availability?
--Megan
It is obvious that technology has improved office efficiency and created new ways to work, even allowing some flexibility with when and where people work.
As I am at the beginning of my working career, I have never known work without Internet, computers, fax machines, scanners/copiers, e-mail, chat, Skype, and other forms of technology. It is interesting to imagine the daily work and office culture before Internet and e-mail were so widely used in the workplace. I spoke with someone recently who said, "It's healthy to do physical, tangible work so you can step back and see what you've accomplished. At the end of a day at a computer, what have you really done?" I laughed, because I know that feeling all too well.
Another dilemma with the so-called freedom that comes with being able to work anywhere and at anytime: you are always available anywhere and at anytime. Your employer can reach you while you're on vacation, send you e-mails at 8:30pm or on a Saturday, and you can feel the need to "just get a little done" over the weekend because you can. When the Internet was originally introduced, it was projected that because of more efficiency in the workplace, work hours could be reduced. On the contrary, people are working increasingly more hours and have found work invasive. Laptops and smart phones are helpful, but they are also hard to ignore. Boundaries have been stretched and expectations raised. Your co-workers know you can be reached and will expect a response despite the hour or day of the week. Correspondence is expected immediately; deadlines are moved up.
Mixing work and technology is beneficial in many ways, but I think often people are not sure how to set boundaries between personal and professional lives. What is on one hand a convenience is also a leash, tethering us to our work and making us constantly at the disposal of our employers. How can we set boundaries in order to protect ourselves from this constant availability?
--Megan
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
A true discovery
Wanted to share these awesome pictures of the flight of Discovery from today.
These pictures were taken by a friend. Did anyone else get a good view of the flight? Who will be checking out Discovery when it lands in a Smithsonian display?
--Krystal
These pictures were taken by a friend. Did anyone else get a good view of the flight? Who will be checking out Discovery when it lands in a Smithsonian display?
--Krystal
Sunday, April 15, 2012
The Happiness Project
So very recently I found this book, "The Happiness Project"written by best-selling author, Gretchen Rubin. The Happiness project is Gretchen Rubin's memoir of a year spent discovering the wisdom of the ages, popular culture and simply how to be happy. I have just started reading this book, but it does a great job of recounting Rubin's experiments and adventures towards finding happiness.
Although I have just started reading it I am very excited about what is to come. Many times I found myself having this same conversation about finding happiness and discovering what truly makes one happy both physically and mentally. Who really knows what makes them happy? But it seems to me that it is something that we continue to strive toward day after day.
As I continue to read this novel I will be sure to report back to all what I learn. For starters check out Rubin's blog and join the Happiness Project.
Do you know what makes you happy? And if so, how are your pursuing your happiness?
--Krystal
Saturday, April 14, 2012
A Beautiful Restoration
Howard Theatre is back! After a $29 million renovation, the 12,000 square-foot venue will make room for more than 1,000 standing and will sea 600 at tables for a more intimate dinner-club-style shows. For this new and improved Howard theatre the designers also lowered the stage to bring guests closers to stage and performers.
It is very exciting to have such an exciting historic landmark and venue to be restored in all of its glory back to the District. With several big acts set to grace the stage time will tell how the new Howard Theatre will continue to inspire and illustrate both culture and creativity.
Anyone bee to visit Howard Theatre yet? Plans to go soon?
--Krystal
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Meditation on Poverty, Wealth, and Greed
"The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other. It is not, as poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich. Consequently, the modern poor are not pitied...but written off as trash.The twentieth century consumer economy has produced the first culture for which a beggar is a reminder of nothing." --John Berger
"If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master. The covetous man cannot so properly be said to possess wealth, as that may be said to possess him." Sir Francis Bacon
"For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved." (RESV Bible)
May you challenge yourself with the way you spend money.
--Megan
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Changing Shaw
As a current resident in the NW DC neighborhood of Shaw, home to the infamous U Street Corridor, I have seen the neighborhood transforming before my eyes. Large new buildings are going up, new restaurants are opening, renovations are being done...the neighborhood is evolving. Much of it is good: the Howard Theater is scheduled to open next weekend and it looks fantastic (as does the street and sidewalk around it!). The Giant has been demolished but is coming soon, new and improved, with more retail, a hotel, and more parking. More and more restaurants, bars, and cafes are coming to life on 9th St and Florida Avenue, and a massive construction project looms over my corner, promising apartments and condos, office space, and retail. While all of this progress is good and it is amazing when so many are suffering from the economy to see so much growth and renewal and excitement, I can't help but feel a little nervous for what is to come.
What if the promised new retail across from my apartment is a Subway and a Starbucks? What if rent prices and property values increase, driving out some of the long-time, yet marginalized, residents? What if new, young gentrifiers flock to the neighborhood in mass? What if Shaw starts looking like any other neighborhood in DC with over-priced bars and young professionals with self-importance and a Starbucks on every corner?
I love my neighborhood for its' quirky and diverse blend of people. I love it for the library and the close proximity to everything in the city and the lack of pretentious air. I love it because it's not a youthful mecca, but a place where families, new residents and old all live together. I love it for it's classic, colorful rowhouses.
While I think progress is good, I'm content with my neighborhood, and I know that with increased market appeal it will lose some of it's character. I'm concerned for residents, myself included, who might be forced from our homes if rent starts rising.
You see, neighborhoods become uncool as soon as they become saturated with cool and trendy and fashionable things. I don't want to live in a neighborhood where everyone is interested in the same things I am and is the same age I am; that's not natural. I appreciate Shaw for it's age, race, and economic diversity, and that for the most part everyone there resides in harmony despite these differences. I like it for being unknowingly cool, for not trying to hard.
Gentrification and revitalization come and go in cycles and waves, bringing both good and bad to the neighborhoods and residents they mark. As Shaw's appeal rises, yesterday's trendy neighborhood will slowly see a decline. It is all part of the natural evolution of a city. We'll have to wait and see if Shaw loses it's traditions and heritage in the new wave of gentrification.
--Megan
What if the promised new retail across from my apartment is a Subway and a Starbucks? What if rent prices and property values increase, driving out some of the long-time, yet marginalized, residents? What if new, young gentrifiers flock to the neighborhood in mass? What if Shaw starts looking like any other neighborhood in DC with over-priced bars and young professionals with self-importance and a Starbucks on every corner?
I love my neighborhood for its' quirky and diverse blend of people. I love it for the library and the close proximity to everything in the city and the lack of pretentious air. I love it because it's not a youthful mecca, but a place where families, new residents and old all live together. I love it for it's classic, colorful rowhouses.
While I think progress is good, I'm content with my neighborhood, and I know that with increased market appeal it will lose some of it's character. I'm concerned for residents, myself included, who might be forced from our homes if rent starts rising.
You see, neighborhoods become uncool as soon as they become saturated with cool and trendy and fashionable things. I don't want to live in a neighborhood where everyone is interested in the same things I am and is the same age I am; that's not natural. I appreciate Shaw for it's age, race, and economic diversity, and that for the most part everyone there resides in harmony despite these differences. I like it for being unknowingly cool, for not trying to hard.
Gentrification and revitalization come and go in cycles and waves, bringing both good and bad to the neighborhoods and residents they mark. As Shaw's appeal rises, yesterday's trendy neighborhood will slowly see a decline. It is all part of the natural evolution of a city. We'll have to wait and see if Shaw loses it's traditions and heritage in the new wave of gentrification.
--Megan
Sunday, April 1, 2012
"For People Who Love Film"
The 26th Annual Washington, DC International Film festival in DC this year will be held April 12-22nd. The festival brings inspiring, thought-provoking films to help people around the world better understand how the other half lives. What is so exciting about this festival is the representation of all of the various cultures and how people travel to attend the festival just to watch the films of their country. Below is a list of featured items for the film festival.
- The Lighter Side - A series of international comedies. Politics isn't the only funny thing in Washington.
- Caribbean Journeys - New films from Jamaica, Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago, the Dominican Republic and more.
- Justice Matters - A series exploring issues of social justice.
This is a great opportunity to see some great film and experience different cultures at the same time. I will be volunteering at the festival so if you come to the Regal theatre in Chinatown you may even see me there. Below is the website where you can find additional information on the films and also how to purchase tickets. If you find a film that you really want to see be sure to get your tickets early.
Happy movie going!
--Krystal
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