This should end well........ Bieber's Neighbors Told by Police: Take Matters Into Your Own Hands w/ Citizen's Arrest

Justin Bieber's trail of liquor and litter at his Beverly Hills condo has set his neighbors off ... and now we know the cops have talked to them about placing the singer under citizen's arrest.

TMZ broke the story ... cops came to the condo 6 TIMES over the weekend -- 4 times for excessive noise in the middle of the night.  Bieber partied hard -- 75 guests on Saturday night and 20 on Sunday.

The pictures on the rooftop deck tell only part of the story. People in the building tell TMZ ... the hallways and elevators reeked of pot.  And several guests say drug use was obvious.  

One person says, "There were bimbos lining up to do drugs in the lobby bathroom."

Law enforcement sources tell us ... cops have spoken to residents, Bieber and his management to resolve the situation.

We're told police informed residents cops can't make an arrest for a misdemeanor if they don't see it happen ... but the residents can take matters into their own hands by placing Bieber under arrest.

Via TMZ

Nightmare Palm Springs AirBnB Renter Refuses to Leave

In addition to the fact that AirBnB is likely not legal in your neighborhood, another potential downside to the vacation rental service is that you might have to take renters to court to evict them. Business Insider reports on an AirBnB host living who's having to do just that with her condo in Palm Springs. The "guest," a man whose profile identified him as Maksym, rented the woman's condo for a month and paid upfront, but after two days said he was dissatisfied and demanded a refund. And that's where the trouble began ...

The property owner, now feeling uneasy about the visitor, contacted AirBnB so that he could get his money back and leave. It turns out that, aside from the initial AirBnB fees, the company was "unable" to collect for actual time stayed in the condo. At a loss for what to do, and after a chain of "antagonistic texts" with the guy in her condo, the property owner decided to let him stay for the term of his reserved time, hoping he'd leave afterward.

But on the last day of his reservation, when the condo owner emailed the guest and told him to leave or she'd shut off the utilities, he responded with a caps-lock-riddled tirade claiming that he was occupying the condo legally and that he was going to sue her because his brother got an ulcer from drinking the tap water in the condo. It turns out, he was only partially crazy.

When the condo owner hired a lawyer, she discovered that, in California, tenants who rent property for 30 days are considered month-to-month-lease tenants, meaning that in order to kick her squatter out, she would actually have to go through the whole process to evict him. Eviction is neither fast nor cheap: it could take as much as half a year and cost around $5,000 in lawyer's fees. AirBnB always reminds hosts to be aware of their state's laws, but if they'd include a footnote about this exchange, maybe people would actually pay attention to that warning.

Sourced HERE

Illustrator Takako Handa Creates Imaginary Characters Old Japanese Cardboard Boxes

Tumbler Page HERE

George Harrison Memorial Tree Killed by Actual Beetles

In a twist of irony, the George Harrison memorial tree in Los Angeles was killed by an infestation of actual beetles The Los Angeles Times reports.

According to the report, the 10-foot pine tree that was planted in 2004 bit the dust over the weekend due to a bombardment of bark beetles.

The BBC reports the tree was planted as a sapling outside of the Griffith Observatory in memory of the Beatles songwriter, and had a plaque that read: “In memory of a great humanitarian who touched the world as an artist, a musician and a gardener.”

Before the beetles slaughtered the Harrison tree, the memorial was intended to remind people that the Beatles member spent his last days in LA before dying in 2001 at the age of 58, in addition to his devotion to gardening.

The Los Angeles Times added that Harrison would probably find the cause of the tree’s death amusing because the Beatles member once said that his two biggest accomplishments in life were getting into the band and then getting out.

Park officials plan on replacing the dead tree, but hope future colonies of beetles will not destroy the next Beatles memorial.

Read more via Daily Caller

Conan discovers Tinder

KAWS New Brooklyn Studio by Masamichi Katayama

The artist Brian Donnelly, aka KAWS, got his early start by defacing New York billboards. But he’s grown up a lot. He now runs his own company (which is actually based in Toyko), he creates high-priced artwork, and he just recently moved into a new studio in Williamsburg that looks a lot more like an upscale gallery.

After purchasing an old derelict building on North 9th Street (right next to Paws and Claws Veterinary Hospital – am I the only one who finds that funny?) for about one million, he recruited Tokyo-based architect Masamichi Katayama of Wonder Wall to renovate it. This isn’t the first collaboration between the two. Back in 2006 Katayama designed the Original Fake store in Tokyo.  “Unlike the solid, brick facade that blends well into the neighborhood, the interior is a vastly open space,” says Katayama. “This bright, extensive openness illuminated with toplight is a result of the artist’s request to create large paintings under natural light.”

The ground level is a selection of art, primarily by the artist himself, sprinkled with the more utilitarian art supplies. Upstairs on the 2nd floor is an office space and large balcony, which affords some stunning views of Manhattan.

VIA spoon-tamago

Marvel Announces New Captain America on 'The Colbert Report'

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,The Colbert Report on Facebook,Video Archive

Sam Wilson, formerly the Falcon, will take on the cowl and shield in a new series launching in November, CCO Joe Quesada tells Stephen Colbert.

A day after it was revealed that Marvel Entertainment would be replacing the comic book incarnation of Thor with a new, female version, the publisher followed through on an earlier tease by announcing that Sam Wilson, formerly the superhero known as the Falcon, would be taking over the role of Captain America this October.

The announcement, long-rumored in comic book fandom, was made by Marvel CCO Joe Quesada on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report on Wednesday night.

Wilson, created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan, first appeared in 1969’s Captain America #117 and was—somewhat depressingly, given the date—the first African-American superhero in mainstream comics (The Black Panther, who had debuted in Fantastic Four years earlier, was African, coming from the fictional country of Wakanda). By 1971, he was upgraded to co-star status when the series was retitled Captain America and the Falcon, a change that lasted until 1978 when Steve Rogers went solo once more.

Since then, Wilson has enjoyed short-lived runs in various titles, including most recently Avengers, Mighty Avengers and the current Captain America series. Additionally, the character debuted on the big screen earlier this year in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Wilson will take on the role of Captain America in October’s Captain America #25, written by Rick Remender with art by Carlos Pacheco. In doing so, he will become the seventh character to use the name in Marvel continuity, as well as the second of Captain America’s former sidekicks to take the identity on in the last decade.

Quesada's appearance on the show was the second high-profile announcement from Marvel regarding a character with their own Marvel movie franchise in as many days; earlier on Wednesday, rumors began to surface that the publisher has similar plans for Iron Man, completing the trio of non-Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy movie properties undergoing renewal this fall.

Via Hollywood Reporter

Malaysia Airlines Passenger Jet Shot Down Over Ukraine, 295 Dead

According to the Russian news agency Interfax, a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet carrying 295 passengers and crew was shot down today along the border between Ukraine and Russia. Interfax also cites Ukraine's Interior Ministry advisor as saying all aboard the plane—including 23 American citizens—have died.

The plane—which you see in the photo above taking off from LAX in 2012—was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down at about 32,000 feet. Reuters is reporting that the plane did not enter Russian airspace when expected and crashed, though Ukraine maintains that the plane was taken down by a missile. Malaysia Airlines has not yet confirmed what would be one of the gravest disasters in aviation history, though the airline has confirmed that it lost contact with the plane at 2:15 local time. That said, a Reuters reporter in Eastern Ukraine has spotted the burning wreckage along with "bodies on the ground." An official with the Russian Emergency Ministry also says that at least 100 bodies are visible on the ground in a roughly 10 mile radius.

Unsurprisingly, no one has yet accepted responsibility for the plane reportedly being shot down, and both Ukraine and Russia are pinning the disaster on the other. Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko has said that his country's military "did not take action against airborne targets." Pro-Russian forces in Ukraine similarly deny responsibility, stating that they do not possess the type of missile that is alleged to have brought the jet down. Separatist leader Alexander Borodai followed that up by laying blame at the feet of the Ukrainians.

More Here Via Gawker

Anti Gay Company Urban Outfitters Offends Hindus

Being a cool-kid brand that relies on the sympathies of jaded, snarky American teenagers can be a tough slog, especially when the brand’s cachet relies on culturally insensitive designs.

Urban Outfitters’s latest faux pas is a case-in-point: it had to pull a duvet cover featuring Lord Ganesh, the Hindu deity with the head of an elephant, from its website and issue an apology after some vocal Hindu activists protested the use of the image on a bedspread. It isn’t the first time Urban Outfitters’s designs have caused a ruckus among Hindus, not to mention people of other cultures.

The store, which has plastered Lord Ganesh over countless items including sweatshirts, tapestries and t-shirts, said it will continue to sell other Ganesh paraphernalia. Ganesh, after all, has become something of a light post for starry-eyed young admirers of Eastern religion.

So what’s different about a duvet cover? The problem has to do with placement, according to Rajan Zed of the US-based Universal Society of Hinduism. While wall art is an appropriate medium for displaying images of Ganesh, things like bed covers and socks—which put the highly revered religious figure in contact with one’s feet—are not, Zed explained after the company pulled its $8-a-pair Ganesh socks last year. Granted, there are oodles of bedspreads on the market with Ganesh on them, and Urban Outfitters is an easy target for overzealous activists.

But that the company responded so quickly to outcry reflects unease about its target customer. Of all the groups the company has offended over the years—Jews, women, the Irish, Christians—alienating the Hindu community is arguably a dumber move. Urban Outfitters—which also owns the retailers Anthropologie and Free People—has been struggling with declining sales at its flagship chain.

Aiming for the slightly more sophisticated clientele that is boosting its other brands—a solution Urban Outfitters executives have proposed—might help revive sales among American college kids. But if the company wants to realize its dreams of global expansion, it will have to mind its image abroad, particularly in Asia, where the retail sector is exploding and consumers who can afford its wares may be slightly older and less comfortable with mocking religions in public.

The world’s teens may be universally restless and hormonal, but not all of them get a kick out of Jesus (or deity) jokes.

Sourced Here

Archie Will Be Shot To Death Saving His Best Friend – Who Is Gay

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Archie Andrews will die taking a bullet for his gay best friend.

The famous freckle-faced comic book icon is meeting his demise in Wednesday's installment of "Life with Archie" when he intervenes in an assassination attempt on Kevin Keller, Archie Comics' first openly gay character. Andrews' death, which was first announced in April, will mark the conclusion of the series that focuses on grown-up renditions of Andrews and his Riverdale pals.

"The way in which Archie dies is everything that you would expect of Archie," said Jon Goldwater, Archie Comics publisher and co-CEO. "He dies heroically. He dies selflessly. He dies in the manner that epitomizes not only the best of Riverdale but the best of all of us. It's what Archie has come to represent over the past almost 75 years."

Keller's character first joined Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper, Jughead Jones and Reggie Mantle in the Archie Comics spin-off "Veronica" in 2010. He later appeared in his own solo title. In "Life with Archie," Keller is a married military veteran and newly elected senator who's pushing for more gun control in Riverdale after his husband was involved in a shooting.

"We wanted to do something that was impactful that would really resonate with the world and bring home just how important Archie is to everyone," said Goldwater. "That's how we came up with the storyline of saving Kevin. He could have saved Betty. He could have saved Veronica. We get that, but metaphorically, by saving Kevin, a new Riverdale is born."

Who shot Archie? Goldwater isn't spoiling the killer, only teasing it's a stalker who wanted to take Keller down.

Archie's final moments will be detailed in "Life with Archie" No. 36, while issue No. 37 will jump forward a year and focus on the Riverdale gang honoring the legacy of their red-headed pal, who first appeared in comics in 1941 and went on to become a colorful icon of wholesomeness. Other incarnations of Andrews will continue to live on in Archie Comics series.

In recent years, deaths of high-profile comic book characters like Peter "Spider-Man" Parker and Steve "Captain America" Rogers have made headlines and garnered intense reaction from fans. Goldwater notes that Andrews' passing isn't just a publicity stunt but also a lesson about gun violence and a declaration of diversity in the new age of Archie Comics.

"Archie is not a superhero like all the rest of the comic book characters," said Goldwater. "He's human. He's a person. When you wound him, he bleeds. He knows that. If anything, I think his death is more impactful because of that. We hope by showing how something so violent can happen to Archie, that we can — in some way — learn from him."

Sourced here

Weird Al – “Tacky” Video (Pharrell Parody)

We are teeming with excitement to announce that Nerdist is premiering “Weird Al” Yankovic’s first music video for his #8videos8days project. Feast your eyes on the video for “Tacky,” a wonderfully warped and wacky version of Pharrell’s hyper-bubbly mega-hit, “Happy.”

Featuring guest appearances from comedians Aisha Tyler, Margaret Cho, Eric Stonestreet, Kristen Schaal and Jack Black, the video was shot on location at the historic Palace Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, the same space that was used as Julianne Moore’s apartment in The Big Lebowski.

“We’re going to have some fun today!” Al told us before shooting began. “Thank you, Pharrell; I really appreciate it–you’re a cool guy,” he said as he cracked that famously wide smile.

Throughout the video we are treated to a wonderful deluge of clashing colors, socks-and-sandals, Jack Black’s backwards sequin fanny pack, and dance moves that resemble a fit of ataxia. Every aspect of the video is so tastefully tasteless, that we’re pretty sure tackiness will be the look of the summer.

As thrilled as we are about how big the music video for “Tacky” is, the rest of Weird Al’s album is full of exceedingly catchy parodies that we’re also ecstatic to blast on repeat all summer long. ”I am very proud of it” Al said confidently. “I think its my best album to date.”

We think so too. Our own Chris Hardwick couldn’t contain his joy at working with Al, “Al has ALWAYS been one of my idols. If you had told teenage me that I would one day not only be friends with him but also get to produce a video for him, my young brain wouldn’t have been able to process it. I have watched “Tacky” dozens of times and I can’t stop singing it. I LOVE YOU AL.”

Now all we need is a 24 hour version of “Tacky” so Weird Al can go on a crusade of faux pas around the world.

Head over to weirdal.com now to preorder your copy of Mandatory Fun. Then keep up with #8videos8days all week for more Weird Al greatness.

Rick James: Memoir →

If even half the stories in Rick James's new autobiography, Glow, are true, then James led one of the most epic rock lives ever. The book, written with David Ritz, was finished posthumously (James died of a heart attack in 2004, at age 56) and is out this week, alongside a digital box set of his Complete Motown Albums.

James became one of the leading lights of funk in the late Seventies and early Eighties, but across the years, the singer was equally obsessed with sex and drugs. At one point in the book, he approvingly remembers the SUNY Buffalo English major he hooked up with for a while ("She had a PhD in blow jobs," according to James) who adapted a line of T.S. Eliot's poetry for him: "In the room the women come and go/Talking of Michelangelo" became "In the room the women come and go, looking to snort Rick James's blow." Ten other stories from the master of punk-funk:

1. O Canada

James dodged the Vietnam War draft by heading across the Canadian border from his hometown of Buffalo, New York. But as soon as he got into Toronto, three drunk white guys tried to beat him up for going AWOL. "A trio of three other white guys saw what was happening and came running to my aid." Two of those three: Garth Hudson and Levon Helm, then playing backup for Ronnie Hawkins, later Bob Dylan collaborators in the Band. He also became friendly with Joni Mitchell (they would stay up all night listening to jazz), and she recommended Neil Young, who joined James in a band called the Mynah Birds. They got signed to Motown and were ready to release a single — but it got shelved when the U.S. armed forces caught up with James for going AWOL and threw him in the brig.

2. The Kind of Girls You Don't Take Home to Mother

Some of the women James reported liaisons with: Linda Blair (The Exorcist), Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas), Catherine Bach (The Dukes of Hazzard TV show), Olay Ray (the video for Michael Jackson's "Thriller"), Iman (the supermodel), Teena Marie (his protégée), Jan Gaye (the wife of his friend and mentor, Marvin Gaye).

3. Street Songs

James scuffled on the periphery of the music business for many years before breaking through, watching friends become famous, making money however he could (including drug smuggling from India and Colombia) and periodically ending up in jail. How he remembered getting busted in Toronto on an old charge of breaking and entering a clothing boutique: "A few seconds ago, my life was perfect — the perfect bitch, the perfect financier, the perfect backup band, the perfect connections to the perfect music scene in L.A. Now perfection had turned to pure shit."

4. The First-Aid Kit of the Lizard King

While staying at Stephen Stills' place circa 1966, James woke up to find a young guy sitting cross-legged on the floor, "stoned as a motherfucker," watching blood drip from his wrist, "saying things like 'Isn't the blood beautiful? Isn't that the deepest red you've ever seen?'" Alarmed, James woke up Stills, who said, "Oh, fuck, he's doing it again," and bandaged the young man up. Which is how Rick James met Jim Morrison.

5. Cocaine Is a Hell of a Drug

James made his national TV debut on American Bandstand. He performed his singles "You and I" and "Mary Jane" and did a long interview with Dick Clark, who he remembers as "one of the nicest cats I'd ever met." The only problem: James had done so much blow backstage, his nose started running profusely. "I started sniffing and wiping myself until it had to be obvious to Dick and a million viewers what was really going on."

6. I'm Rick James, Bitch

James nursed a grudge against George Clinton, who consumed his cocaine but didn't help him get a record deal, and Prince, who stole his thunder (and, James claims, his stage moves). Bringing Prince out on tour didn't go well: "My band was a bunch of friendly down-home brothas loved by everyone. His band was a bunch of snobs who never bothered to acknowledge my guys." Years later, what gave James the push to collaborate with Eddie Murphy was that the comedian had gone in the studio with Prince but felt uncomfortable around him. "There wasn't anything I'd rather have done than write a hit for Eddie — and stick it in Prince's ear," James said.

7. The creation of "Super Freak"

It was about three in the morning. We had just put the horn parts on "Give It to Me Baby" when I was sitting in front of the console with my bass. I wasn't trying to write. I was just noodling. This bass line came out of nowhere. Four descending notes. Nothing particularly striking. It was cheesy, but it was also catchy. I couldn't stop playing it. At the same time, I started singing, "She's a very kinky girl…" I was about to stop — the whole thing sounded a little dumb — when one of my cats said, "Cut it, Rick."

    "You crazy?" I asked.

    "No man, it's cool. It's hypnotic."

    I kept playing the riff and realized that it was hypnotic. Right then and there I had the engineer hook up a mic and started singing the story as it came to me — this story of a super freak. I never wrote down a word. Made it up on the spot.

8. The Persistence of Memory

James went to a dinner party in Hawaii where one of the other guests was Salvador Dali, who kept staring at him — and finally said, "Senor, I am mad about the way you look. Please allow me to sketch you." Dali spent 15 or 20 minutes drawing a portrait of James on his napkin — and then gave James the napkin. It could have been a priceless memento, except the next morning James smoked a joint and went for a swim in the shorts he had been wearing the night before, forgetting that it still held the napkin. The portrait became an inky blob.

9. Back in the Saddle

Steven Tyler of Aerosmith became James's recovery buddy during various stays in rehab — he would even jump on James's back for piggy-back rides. "He's the one cat who can outtalk me and actually makes those meetings fun," James said. "Half of what he says is bullshit, but his bullshit is so brilliant I don't care if it's true or not."

10. Rick James's Inferno

In his later years, James was constantly battling his addiction to freebase cocaine, and usually losing. After his mother died, he reported, "there was nothing to keep me from descending into the lowest level of hell. That meant orgies. That meant sado-masochism. That even meant bestiality." No details provided (or honestly, wanted).

Robin Thicke sold LESS than 55 in Australia →

TWERK jerk Robin Thicke has gone from hero to zero in twelve months flat.

This time last year Thicke’s albumBlurred Lines stormed into the Australian album chart at No. 4, on the back of the hit title track.

Last week Thicke’s follow up album,Paula, didn’t even make the ARIA Top 500.

For some perspective, the album at No. 500, a Blondie compilation, sold just 54 copies in Australia last week.

Best.Birthday.Ever →

 
Free Slurpee® Drink Day is Just the Beginning of 7-Eleven®Stores’ Weeklong Birthday Bash

Dallas (July 9, 2014) – When it comes to birthdays, there can never be too much of a good thing. Why celebrate just one day when you can extend the fun all week? That’s why7-Eleven is celebrating its 87th birthday with a full week (actually eight days) of free offers, beginning Friday, July 11, or 7-Eleven Day. Except this time, instead of guests bringing presents to the birthday party, they’re receiving them as a thank-you from the company that founded convenience retailing in 1927.

Probably best known as FREE SLURPEE® DRINK DAY, July 11 is the day the convenience retailer gives away millions of Slurpee drinks to toast its birthday. Between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. this Friday at participating stores, visitors can receive a free small Slurpee drink while supplies last. This is the 12th year the convenience retailer has offered free Slurpee drinks on its birthday.

But that’s not the end of the party. Each day through Saturday, July 19, a coupon for a different, free item will be featured on 7-Eleven’s smartphone app.

The daily birthday offers are …

Saturday, July 12 FREE Big Gulp® soft drink

Sunday, July 13 FREE M&M’s Birthday Cake Flavor candies

Monday, July 14 FREE Grandma’s Cookies

Tuesday, July 15 FREE Hostess Twinkies

Wednesday, July 16 FREE Snickers or Twix brand ice cream bar

Thursday, July 17 FREE Quaker Chewy Yogurt snack bar

Friday, July 18 FREE Pillsbury cookie

And for the big finish (drumroll) …

Saturday, July 19 Another FREE small Slurpee drink

To receive each day’s free offer, a customer must first download and register on the7-Eleven app. A customer opens the 7-Eleven app at the store and shows the member barcode to the sales associate at checkout. The bar code appears below the coupons. Once the associate scans the barcode at the register, the customer will receive the item as they check out. Quantities are limited, and the free items are available at participating stores while supplies last. The offer is limited to one free item per person, per day. The7-Eleven app is not required to receive a free Slurpee drink on 7-Eleven Day (Friday, July 11).

“Every year on 7-Eleven Day, we take the opportunity to thank our guests for their patronage throughout the year,” said Laura Gordon, 7-Eleven vice president of Marketing and Brand Innovation. “This year we’re saying thanks in an even bigger way with eight days of free stuff. Summer is the season of fun, and each day’s special offer through our7-Eleven app is a fun treat to enjoy, compliments of 7-Eleven and our supplier partners.”

This summer, two limited-edition Slurpee drink flavors are among choices at 7-Eleven – Lemonade, made with real fruit juice, and Slurpee Lite™ Sugar-Free Fanta Watermelon Punch.

“Slurpee is known for its delicious variety of flavors and colors,” Gordon said, “and this summer is no different. This year’s flavors celebrate the season with two of the most popular refreshments this time of year – lemonade and watermelon. Our colorful mason jar cups and mustache straws add an extra element of fun, bringing out the kid in all of us.”

Each 7-Eleven Day, the Slurpee birthday party extends to social media where 7-Elevensees its traffic increase by double digits on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The retailer has added Tumblr to its social media mix this year.

Participating 7-Eleven stores also are offering ¼-pound Big Bite® hot dogs this Friday for $1 as part of the birthday celebration. Adding to the already great value, customers can top these dollar-dogs with their choice of condiments like mustard, catsup, onions, relish, chili and hot melted cheese for no extra charge.

7-Eleven and Slurpee are among the world’s most recognized brands. 7-Eleven created the concept of convenience retailing in 1927, when an employee began selling milk, bread and eggs from an ice dock in Dallas, Texas. Today, 87 years later, 7-Eleven has more locations than any other retailer or restaurant with more than 53,300 stores in 16 countries. Worldwide, an estimated 53 million shop at 7-Eleven stores every day.

7-Eleven’s most iconic brand – Slurpee – celebrates its 49th birthday this year. 7-Elevenintroduced the frozen carbonated beverage in its stores in 1965, and it was an immediate hit. Wacky flavor names and quirky radio spots created a drink craze among teens and young adults, the same demographic group that is the drinks’ biggest fans. Slurpee drinks enjoy worldwide popularity, with more than 7 billion Slurpee drinks slurped during its colorful history, enough for everyone on earth to enjoy one.

Familiarize Yourself w/Carol Kaye - The First Lady of Bass

Trailer for a proposed documentary on the famed session bassist.

Adams Morgan Lifts Moratorium on Restaurant Liquor Licenses →

D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board lifted a five-year moratorium on restaurant liquor licenses in Adams Morgan on Wednesday, but chose to keep in place the ban on new tavern or nightclub licenses.

The change will allow new restaurants to apply for Class C licenses at any location rather than obtaining one from an existing active licensee or a closed restaurant whose license has been held in safekeeping.

It hasn’t necessarily been difficult for new Adams Morgan restaurants to get their liquor licenses during the past year or so; there have been restaurants opening in the neighborhood left and right.

That’s because restaurants moving into an existing restaurant space can take over the license there. As of March, there were also eight restaurant licenses in safekeeping from closed establishments, including Mr. Henry (at 1836 Columbia Road NW) and Slaviya (at 2424 18th St. NW).

The neighborhood has in some cases seen restaurant development as a preferred alternative to more bar and nightlife development, and Adams Morgan is increasingly being seen as a dining destination.

The local Advisory Neighborhood Commission, ANC 1C, supported the change, arguing that “allowing additional restaurant licenses within the moratorium zone can foster competition among existing establishments, raise the level of quality and positively impact the adverse conditions that persist in Adams Morgan.” (Those adverse conditions being issues of peace and quiet, traffic and parking.)

The more difficult license to obtain under the moratorium is the tavern license; the moratorium restricts the total number of tavern licenses — which don’t have a food sales requirement — to 10, and there are currently none of those licenses in safekeeping.

Existing tavern licenses are held by spots you would expect: Madam’s Organ, Pharmacy Bar, Town Tavern, but also some establishments that operate more as restaurants, including Mellow Mushroom and Smoke & Barrel.

The new moratorium was also set for three years — instead of the five years the last moratorium was implemented for — in order to allow the board to examine its effects sooner. The Adams Morgan liquor license moratorium is the second largest in the city after Georgetown.

The ANC also requested the ABC board include a prohibition on bar crawls in the neighborhood, but prohibition of bar crawls was not included in the moratorium ruling, with the board instead suggesting that those events should be dealt with through settlement agreements with individual licensees that might participate in bar crawls.

Sticky Fingers Bakery coming to H Street

Vegans of H Street, good news: You're getting a Sticky Fingers Bakery in your neighborhood early next year. Owner Doron Petersan chose the neighborhood for the second location of her vegan bakery, where she'll able to take advantage of an expanded menu and extra space when the restaurant, at 406 H Street NE, opens in 2015.

Sticky Fingers has been a mainstay for D.C.'s vegans since 2002, and Petersan's profile as a vegan baker has been elevated by two victories on the Food Network's "Cupcake Wars." The new 2,600-square-foot space on H Street, which will feature a bistro dining menu and full bar, will give her a chance to stretch out from the smaller Columbia Heights storefront. The new restaurant will have seating for 50, and serve vegan comfort food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with extended bar hours on weekends.

"Our food is vegan, but it's comfort food first and foremost," said Petersan, who plans to draw upon her Jewish-Italian heritage for some of the dishes. "Think baked savories – lasagna, casseroles, stromboli," she said.

As for the bar, she plans to source local beers and spirits. The bakery will expand its offerings to breads, and Petersan says that she is still committed to baked goods first and foremost. The Sticky Fingers sequel will be "Really delicious, really wholesome, and basically accessible, traditional, and comfortable," she said.

VIA WashingtonPost

On The Run: Beyonce & Jay Z Miami Opening

Jay-Z and Beyoncé opened their On The Run tour last night in Miami and the Bonnie and Clyde routine is still going strong, complete with a 41-song set list that made me tired just reading it. Naturally, social media was flooded with images and clips from their performance. Here's a round-up, including their wedding reveal.

In the opening montage clip above, Beyoncé leaves a voicemail — people still do that? Stars, they aren't just like us — saying "I miss you ... I want some gangster shit." If we had a dollar for every time we've said the exact same thing to Jay...

But here's what you really want: The wedding snippet

VIA Jezebel

Let the Games Begin

Advertising in the age of the internet presents its own unique challenges. Unlike pre-social-media days, everything is now under constant scrutiny.

In a very real way, advertising has transformed much like media itself, becoming less one-sided and more conversational.

The real trick—the Holy Grail, if you will—is for an ad to “go viral.” But that’s often easier said than done.

The very nature of virality suggests an accidental fortune—Google's GOOGL -0.73% definition of the word: “the tendency of an image, video, or piece of information to be circulated rapidly and widely from one Internet user to another; the quality or fact of being viral.”

Marketing professionals continue to struggle with this concept. While Gangnam Style or Angry Birds seem to go viral almost on their own, overnight, making an ad memorable is another challenge altogether. Going viral on purpose, it turns out, is really hard.

The Hunger Games is taking a clever approach to its marketing campaign for Mockingjay: Part 1, the third film in the blockbuster series from Lionsgate (combined box office of over $1.5 billion worldwide for the first two films.)

Rather than simply release movie trailers and posters advertising the film, the latest Hunger Games entry is releasing propaganda for the film’s fictional dictatorship, Panem. The latest trailer shows President Snow (Donald Sutherland) dressed all in white standing next to Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) against an all-white background.

It’s not an ad for the film directly, but rather a message to all the districts in Panem explaining the benefits of a peaceful relationship with the Capitol—and the risks of rebellion. It’s perfectly creepy.

As we recall, the second film in the series, Catching Fire, ended with the beginning of a rebellion. This first Mockingjay trailer reminds us of that, and brings us back into the story. It’s also in keeping with the posters that have been released for the film, each readily share-able on social media.

In these posters, the Capitol “celebrates” the hard work of each District—like the miners of District 12, Katnis’s stomping grounds.

These posters are cool enough—detailed, attractive, ominous—to spread online in ways that a more traditional movie poster likely would not. There’s a whole suite of the posters, as well, making it more likely for viewers to sift through each of them

VIA Forbes

Downtown D.C. traffic gridlocked as taxi drivers miss the POINT

Drivers in and around downtown D.C. were gridlocked in traffic Wednesday as a caravan of angry taxi drivers made its way  from East Potomac Park to Freedom Plaza — in a protest against app-based ride sharing services such as UberX.

Authorities said Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest opened in both directions around 1 p.m. The roadway had been closed from 15th to 9th streets Northwest because of the protest. The street closure caused other delays in the downtown area. Ironically, because of the protest, some people reported difficulty hailing cabs.

The drivers are members of the Teamster-affiliated D.C. Taxi Operators Association and the target of their protest is digital dispatched ride-sharing services such as Lyft, UberX and Sidecar, where regular people give rides to others using their private vehicles. The cab drivers have been at odds with the new services saying they have an unfair advantage over regular cabs since they don’t have to follow the same rules and pay the same fees.

Organizers said they planned to deliver a letter and petition to city officials asking them to impose a “cease and desist” order on the services.

Services such as Uber and Lyft have become popular alternatives for people looking for a ride, but such services have faced opposition from the taxi cab industry as well as some state officials. Virginia recently issued a cease-and-desist order to Lyft and Uber, barring the services from giving rides in the state (trips that originate in D.C. and Maryland, however are permitted). The app-based ride-sharing services have received a warmer reception from the D.C. Council where a bill currently under consideration  would allow such services to operate in the District as long as they meet certain insurance requirements and follow safety rules.  A separate set of proposed regulations by the D.C. Taxi Cab Commission, however, would place limits on the number of hours drivers for these services could operate unless they have a taxi license.

In a statement, the D.C. Taxicab Commission said the commission is working on updating regulations that will ensure “a fair, balanced, competitive, and safe system for passengers and drivers.”

D.C.’s taxi cab drivers aren’t alone in their protests. Such actions have taken place in the U.S. and around the world as cab drivers struggle to compete against these new companies.

VIA Washingtonpost