By Ron Powers In 2020, The Strokes released their sixth studio album, The New Abnormal. Upon its debut, the album was met with widespread acclaim from critics and fans alike, even earning the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 2021. One standout track for me is “The Adults Are Talking.” It’s a song that satisfies fans longing for the classic Strokes vibe while introducing fresh elements to their sound. Much of this newness comes from Julian Casablancas’ hushed, soft vocal delivery, a departure from his signature relaxed rasp. This subtle shift blends seamlessly with the music, creating an atmosphere that feels entirely unique. It’s the kind of song that grows on you, revealing its brilliance over repeated listens, and it’s easy to see why it has resonated with so many. The song begins with a beat crafted on an old drum machine, which manages to sound both futuristic and vintage. Soon after, a simple guitar melody and bassline enter, showcasing the silky, stylish tone The Strokes are known for. Acoustic drums join in, adding a layer of muscle to the sound. As the track transitions into the verse, a palm-muted, single-string guitar line, enhanced with tape echo, casts a subtle enchantment over the music. Casablancas then delivers his serene vocal performance, which lands like a warm summer breeze, completing the song’s captivating introduction. The first chorus sees The Strokes shifting gears. The rhythm guitar takes a more prominent role, plucking out chords one note at a time and sliding gracefully up the fretboard. Its mellow, rounded tone enriches the midrange frequencies, blending with the other instruments to create a lush sonic texture. Meanwhile, the lead guitar follows the topline melody, reinforcing the song’s hook and establishing a cohesive bond between the vocals and the music. Beneath it all, the…
By Genevieve LeFranc Every January as we usher in a new year, our wallets look forward to a break from a busy holiday season of gift shopping, travel expenses, and expensive restaurants. Now is the time to revisit the pricey cosmetics counter alternative and bring out your inner beauty warrior. It never hurts to break your beauty regimen for the more affordable drugstore versions of your favorite must-have staples. While you’ll get no argument from me that treating yourself to an expensive eye shadow or high-end moisturizer every once in a while is a female prerogative well worth exercising, pricey beauty products used on a daily basis add up. January is the time to tighten our belts and start saving where we can, so it’s just plain smart to explore what worthwhile, effective products your local drugstore offers. Whether you run out last minute, need to cut back on spending this month, or are simply tired of dropping fifty bucks every time you run out of bronzer (be strong—the packaging on some of the upscale brands are hard to resist, I know), drugstores really do have some great products that will help you save and keep you (and your wallet) looking great. Here’s a mere sampling across the beauty product spectrum of what your local drugstore has waiting for a smart, savvy beauty consumer like you. Onward and upward, Drugstore Junkie! Mascara: Covergirl Lash Blast Volume Blasting Mascara, $9 vs. DiorShow Mascara, $33 If you love DiorShow mascara for its renowned cult following and the glam catwalk lashes it produces, consider Covergirl Lash Blast Volume Blasting mascara as an affordable alternative. It’s almost a quarter of the price and provides the same sexy, fringed effect. Typically, I prefer to save and invest in quality cosmetics, but mascara is…
By Doug Fabbioli I recently read a discussion on social media about local wineries and where the wines are actually being made. There seemed to be some concern about wines that are not being produced at the facility where the grapes are grown or where customers are enjoying the wine hospitality. I felt inspired to give my perspective of the state of the industry and where we are in the world of estate wines, custom crush and how our businesses succeed at this point. In the Old World of wine, namely France, a number of vineyard towns have a central wine co-op where a vineyards crop will go for processing. Trained cellar workers and winemakers will transform the grapes into wine using modern equipment, scientific analysis and climate-controlled conditions. Most vineyards will receive back their wine in bulk or bottles for them to sell on their own. These co-ops are an intricate part of the industry so the growers can focus on growing grapes, and still have a finished wine without having to invest in the permanent staff and infrastructure that is a winery. Here in Virginia, we have a handful of wineries that have committed to making wines for others in addition to making their own. Fabbioli Cellars is one of these wineries. Michael Shaps and Walsh Family Winery are others. The keys to their success are a well-seasoned winemaking team and a strong commitment to quality for all. My first year of processing fruit for others was in1999 when I was the winemaker for Tarara and we made Viognier and Chardonnay for Chrysalis. The success of this effort gave me the confidence to make other people’s wines, but also gave me more experience. We tend to copy the model of California, where new wineries will utilize the opportunity…
By Julie Reardon, HT Merriam Webster January is a pretty quiet time here in Hunt Country so I thought I would dedicate this month’s column to something a little more entertaining. I hope you find it enlightening. Polarization. It’s the Merriam Webster 2024 Word of the Year, in case you hadn’t heard. Among the top 10 were totality, fortnight, demure, pander, resonate and allision. At first, I thought allision might be some slang word that made it into Merriam Webster. Nope, it’s of maritime origins, used for a moving object colliding with a stationary one, such as the container ship Dali crashing into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key bridge. Although more often described as a collision except in maritime publications, collision actually means two moving objects colliding, such as when you’re driving down a country road and hit a deer. Unless that deer was standing still, then it would be an allision. Rounding out the 2024 top 10 were weird, cognitive and democracy. Merriam Webster uses various criteria to pick its top 10, but mainly how many times a word is looked up and how much it’s used now factor in. Fortnight, for example, is a primarily British word not widely used here. But it’s been around for 700 years, and means a period of 14 days and nights. Popularized by a Taylor Swift song of that name, it remains to be seen if use here becomes common. Even if you’re familiar with most or all the top 10 words, take a peek into slang words and phrases that are commonplace mid-decade, but unheard of or obscure before 2020. Slang usually has its origins with the younger generation, those born after 1995. Pop and youth culture tend to create new slang words and trends. Historically, that meant TV shows, pop and…
By the Gastronomes As the Old Town Crier celebrates its 37th year we wanted to take this opportunity to pay some special attention to those eateries who help support our efforts with their continual advertising support each month. Many of them have been appearing in these pages in excess of twenty-five years with three of them in every issue since the beginning. I guess that’s a testament to all of our longevities in business here in Alexandria. All of these establishments have very distinct flavor profiles ranging from good old fashioned “Diner Fare” including their popular breakfasts served up on chrome and formica 24 hours a day at Bob and Edith’s on Upper King Street to the white table cloths, Martini’s and Manhattan’s at the infamous Landini Brothers. Serving upscale Tuscan Italian cuisine in a revamped warehouse since 1979 in the 100 Block, Landini’s has been with us since day one. Just up the street, prime aged steaks, seafood and upscale Cajun offerings are featured at The Warehouse. The Warehouse is home to hundreds of caricatures of local icons including the Gastronomes – we feel special. Warehouse was also in the first issue! Serving upscale American cuisine in another revamped colonial warehouse in Old Town is Union Street Public House. This place has been an old town go-to since 1986. Just around the corner is Daniel O’Connell’s Irish Restaurant & Bar serving upscale Irish fare in first generation Irish décor. Billing itself as “Born in Ireland and raised in Old Town”, the bulk of the décor was shipped directly from the land of Erin. OC’s definitely has that authentic Irish Pub feel including the lovely Irish accents of many of the first generation staff. We are betting that the majority of you regular readers have an experience or two to…
By Carl Trevison and Stephen Bearce You may want to review your retirement planning strategies because of key provisions in the SECURE Act 2.0, which was signed into law in December 2022. Currently effective Do you need to take required distributions from your retirement accounts? The act increased the required minimum distribution (RMD) age to 73. The RMD age is scheduled to increase to 75 in 2033. Does making qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) make sense? QCDs are available to those age 70½ or older and have a Traditional IRA and/or Traditional Inherited IRA. Now you may distribute a one-time $53,000 QCD paid directly from your IRA to certain split-interest entities that qualify. The distribution will be considered part of the $105,000 QCD annual limit (both amounts are adjusted for inflation). The rules governing which split-interest entities are allowed to receive the one-time $53,000 amount are complex, so consult a planning or philanthropic specialist who can provide more information. Should you direct employer matching contributions to your before-tax qualified retirement plan (QRP) account or designated Roth account? Your employer may now offer you the option to receive vested matching contributions in a QRP designated Roth account instead of a QRP before-tax salary deferral account. Contributions to a designated Roth account are made with after-tax dollars and qualified distributions are tax-free.[1] Should you delay taking distributions from a designated Roth account? Previously, if you had a Roth IRA, you were not required to take RMDs while you were alive, but you did have to take them from a designated Roth account in a QRP. Now you no longer have to take RMDs from either type of Roth account. Would a 529 plan designated beneficiary get a head start on saving for retirement by transferring their unused balance to a Roth IRA? A…
By Nicole Flanagan Do you have a New Year’s Resolution? Well, if you’re like most, you have at least one resolution, and, if you are like the majority of these promise-makers, your resolution is probably related to health and fitness. While resolutions are well-intentioned, unfortunately most people fail at keeping them. With all the hype surrounding these promises, it’s easy to get caught up in them without really taking them seriously. We live in a throw-away society and even our resolutions, I’m afraid, are not immune. However, especially for promises that include improving our health it’s in our best interest to not take them lightly. So, what’s the secret to successful resolutions? While you can’t wave a magic wand and make your resolution come true, there are some easy steps to take to make it easier to fulfill your promise to yourself. Choose an obtainable goal. Resolving to look like a super model is not realistic for the majority of us, but promising to include daily physical activity in our lives is very possible. Avoid choosing a resolution that you’ve been unsuccessful at achieving year after year. This will only set you up for failure, frustration and disappointment. If you are still tempted to make a promise that you’ve made before, then try altering it. For example, instead of stating that you are going to lose 30 pounds, try promising to eat healthier and increase your weekly exercise. Create a game plan. At the beginning of January, write a comprehensive plan. All successful businesses start with a business plan that describes their mission and specifics on how they will achieve it. Write your own personal plan and you’ll be more likely to succeed as well. Break it down and make it less intimidating. Rather than one BIG end goal, dissect…
By Ryan Unverzagt Welcome to 2025 and a brand new half-decade! Hard to believe that I have been penning this column for well over 15 years! Each New Year brings exciting opportunities for all of us, especially in the world of fitness. A few words of advice for sticking with your resolutions: Keep at it, even if you stumble at times. Don’t expect to be perfect. Try to establish a regular routine by getting support from family and friends. Exercising with someone is more fun anyway, so let’s hold each other accountable. With that said, my objective is to provide you with safe, effective exercises that can help you reach your training goals. This month’s exercise is the Leg Press (also called the Hip Sled). It strengthens all the muscles of the legs and hips, particularly the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteus maximus. The leg press is safer than a free-weight squat and can provide much needed back support too. This is a plate-loaded machine meaning that you slide on the weight plates before getting started. Most machines should have a back support that adjusts to different angles. The highest setting provides the most back support. Once you have adjusted the back support to a comfortable angle, sit down into the seat and place your feet about shoulder-width apart on the foot-plate. Notice how the foot-plate has two different angles as well. I placed my feet towards the top, but you can move them lower to make the quadriceps work harder during the exercise. The last adjustment is the safety stops. These prevent the weight from crashing down on you in case your muscles fatigue before finishing your reps. Some machines may not have these, but you want to set them so you have about a 90 degree knee angle at…
By Steve Chaconas When fish are caught, there’s the possibility they’ll either die due to the angling process or from delayed mortality after being released. These issues are well documented in tournaments. Keeping five fish alive during the tournament day and through the weigh-in process is especially challenging in summer months. This prompted a MD Black Bass Advisory Committee (BBAC) discussion to amend the tournament permit requirements. Over the past 5 years, there were nearly 2000 permitted tournaments with 23% on the Potomac River. This does not include events launched from Virginia ramps as they aren’t required to obtain a permit from the MD DNR. Noting that nearly half of the MD events occurred during the special fish care period, June 1- Sept 30, the DNR closely scrutinized events held during that period. For several years permit guidelines have been complied. Functioning livewells, non-piercing culling devices, no culling of dead fish, and minimum ¼ ounce penalty for dead fish were readily accepted. Additionally, fish had to be transported in water-filled containers to and from the weigh in with a maximum of two minutes of transportation time. When water temperatures exceed 80°, continuous live well circulation with periodic water exchanges are required. Prior to release, fish must be recuperated. However last June the MD DNR monitored a Potomac tournament. Their data produced some concern. Of 1,375 fish, 113 were dead at the scale, an 8.2% mortality rate. The Department says this is high, especially when there could have been improved survival with compliance with permit requirements. The BBAC also felt this was high but were concerned that the tournament director reported only 41 dead fish. This disparity was excessive according to many BBAC members. This questions the validity of fish mortality reporting as many tournament directors underreport dead fish. If the…
By Lori Welch Brown Look—I get it. December was a flippin’ blast. You ate the cookies, drank the nog, partied like it was ’99, and here you are again simultaneously cursing the concept of an ‘open’ bar and that new bathroom scale that calculates everything from your holiday spending to metric tons of refined sugar consumed since December 25 (a lot). Things are not looking good. You’re afraid to look at your Visa bill, climbing a flight of steps leaves you winded, and your ex just changed his profile picture to include his new “holidate”—apparently, she morphed into a girlfriend between Christmas and New Year’s. How convenient. Don’t despair—this is your month! Tuck last year where it belongs—in your rearview mirror. Definitely not into your jeans—ain’t nothing fitting in there. Don’t despair. January is all about moving forward with a big, fat blank slate. And don’t worry if everything feels big and fat because that’s temporary. It’s winter—you’re supposed to bulk up (at least that’s what I keep telling myself). So…pull out that new calendar and get to planning! I can practically smell the Sharpie! What day is the Mediterranean diet starting? Don’t want to start it January 1? That’s like setting yourself up for failure. Can’t do it next week—January birthdays and then the holiday weekend. Move it to February! But there are birthdays in February also, not to mention President’s Day weekend and Valentine’s Day. We’ll figure it out. Nothing goes better than summer with Mediterranean anything, am I right? What about joining the gym? Absolutely! Nothing says commitment to health like a gym membership. It’s probably going to be crowded with all those nutty resolution people so should probably postpone that until February as well. But go ahead and sign up to take advantage of the decreased…
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