10.1 - going to union market? alpaca bag
what’s new in washington d.c.?
You can go pet alpacas in Union Market. Seriously, could that sentence get any better? On Saturday from 12-2, La Cosecha is hosting a family day featuring an alpaca petting zoo. (brb googling pictures of alpacas)
Afterwards, head to The Wharf for Oktoberfest. From 2-5, there will be food and drinks across the wharf, including a pretzel cart, brats, sauerkraut and the works.
There’s a new museum in the Petworth area (14th St NW and Crittenden St) featuring graffiti murals by local artists. The exterior of the museum is painted with graffiti and the inside courtyard and upper level (opening Saturday) showcases more murals.
The best views of D.C. are back on display as the Washington Monument reopens with ticketed entry, starting today. Reserve tickets online with a $1.50 refundable deposit for a time between 9 am - 5 pm.
let’s talk food
In sad news, Dolcezza is closing five of its D.C. area locations (Bethesda Row, The Wharf, CityCenter, Logan Circle, and Dupont Circle) on a tbd date in October. So, make it a priority to grab a gelato popsicle or a vanilla bean latte this weekend before it’s too late.
We could all use more breakfast sandwiches in our lives. Eater DC has a list of 28 top breakfast sammies in the D.C. area that will make you drool. It’s an extensive list, but my personal fav didn’t make it. So, here’s a plug for Mt. Vernon’s a baked joint - goat cheese, add a tomato please.
what’s on our minds?
A D.C. special police unit, a part of the Narcotics and Specialized Investigations Division, is disproportionately stopping, frisking, or arresting Black Washingtonians. Despite making up 46% of D.C.’s population, Black individuals were comprised of 87% of stops, 91% of arrests, and 100% of use-of-force incidents by the unit between August 2019 to January 2020. The report was published due to a law passed by the D.C. City Council last summer to increase transparency around police activity.
Could most office workers be working from home….forever? Twitter is seemingly leading the charge (their effort began pre-pandemic) with a decision to allow all employees to choose whether to work from home, subleasing their office space in SF, and some financial compensation for child care. Time will tell if WFH culture becomes the post-pandemic norm. Other companies, such as IBM, have famously tried work from home policies, only to claw them back.
Quick links to other weekly #goodreads:
How Gabby Giffords Survived a Shot to the Head, and Outsmarted the NRA - per Vanity Fair, “Less than a decade after her brush with death, former congresswoman Gabby Giffords is closer than you think to redefining America’s relationship with guns.”
Techie Software Soldier Spy - per NY Mag, “Palantir, Big Data’s scariest, most secretive unicorn, is going public. But is its crystal ball just smoke and mirrors?
How QAnon Conspiracy Theories Spread in my Colorado Hometown - per The Intercept, “During the pandemic, some of the people I grew up with got sucked into QAnon and the Q-adjacent ‘Save the Children’ movement.”
what are we watching/reading?
Into the Dark on Hulu. It’s spooky season and if you feel like you’ve run through all the usual scary movie fare, check out the Into the Dark series on Hulu. It’s a Blumhouse production (think Sinister, Paranormal Activity, Get Out, etc.) and features 21 separate TV movies with plots centered around holidays. There’s no reason to watch in order - each episode has a separate cast and plot. Not sure where to start? Vulture helpfully rated and summarized each episode.
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‘til next time -courtney