Dimen Designs

The Cribs Show Tonight at Black Cat

The Cribs
Originally uploaded by
Dots, Lines, and Polygons.

Walking to The Cribs show tonight at Black Cat. I have to admit that I don't know a lot of their music (and haven't bought their album) but thanks to the Hype Machine and Seeqpod, I've been listening to their stuff over the last few months.

They're good Brit pop music, along the lines of the Editors, Hard-Fi, Doves, Interpol, or Bloc Party, so it it should be a good show. Their big hit recently is the song 'Men's Needs,' which I overheard on MTV some time ago-- I know MTV sucks but who doesn't have a weak spot for 'The Hills.'

And one last thing: this is my last D.C. show-- I'm moving to London in April. I haven't really officially announced this publicly but have been telling friends personally over the last four weeks since I've known. It's been a bit of whirlwind and is part of the reason I've been posting as much lately-- I have of transition work to do (business and personal) before I leave-- and because my wifi at home and my 4yr Dell notebook are playing well together.

Regardless, I owe myself and my few faithful reader, a more thorough post about the London move. And from my friend Patrick, he suggested I start an expat in London blog to let my friends live vicariously through my experiences across the pond. I had been thing about something like so let's see what happens-- I barely have enough time to keep up with this blog let alone another one. I'll post some notes /thoughts on the show a little later and maybe photos if any posts them on Flickr.

Murky Coffee, R.I.P. 2002-2008

Washington City Paper is reporting that Murky Coffee here in the Capital Hill neighborhood may be permanently shut down:

''As reported previously in this space, Murky in late February was shut down by D.C. tax authorities over an unpaid tax bill tallying roughly $220,000.''

Nick Cho, president and head barista of Murky, posted a note on the store window making it sound like the it was The Man screwing with them. Hmm, you don't pay over $200,000 in back taxes and the D.C. Government shuts you down? Yes, definitely unfair. As I said before, Murky I love you but you're bringing me down.

And it gets worse, a note from the attorney representing the landlord of the space (which I didn't see posted on the glass when I walked by tonight after work-- but there were new address labels on the windows) means business:

''This is your official (30) day notice to quit and vacate the premises at 660/666 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E. Washington D.C. 20003. Due to expiration of your month to month lease term. If you do not vacate or[sic] before May 1, 2008, the landlord/owner will file an action for possession in the Landlord and Tenant Branch of the District of Columbia Superior Court.''

That sounds like a curtain call to me. Murky, I loved the times we spent together and will miss you, R.I.P.

P.S.- I don't know how or if the shutdown of the Capital Hill location has affected the Arlington location, haven't seen any news on that. If you know something, leave me a comment or email me, cpherbert [at] gmail.com.

Murky I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down

  Murky Coffee 
  Originally uploaded by robholland.

My beloved Murky Coffee is still closed. I'm following the Murky blog but that's not cutting it; the last update was from Feb. 29th.

What makes Murky special is the character and community of going to the place and now that community here on Capital Hill is displaced (Port City Java is a poor substitute, and doesn't have even 1/3 of the Murky charm or even very good coffee. We care about Murky so there's two things that people want to know :

• what's going on with the DC government and your paperwork?
• when do you anticipate/guess that you will be re-opening?

And even if you don't have any news for us, Murky, we want to hear from you because we care about you. When you have crises and I'd call this one (they've lost two weekends of business now) you over communicate with the public. I'm not suggesting that Nick, who has written the two blog posts about the closing, is clamming up on purpose (I'm sure he's busy as hell trying to get this issue resolved) but this is when we want to hear from you.

When people ask me why their business should have a blog, I say it's because it allows you to communicate directly with your customers, gain valuable, critical insight, and to develop a community around your business. Does the community aspect apply to every business? No, probably not, but at the end of the day customers want to be heard and listened to and a blog is the easiest platform for that two-way communication.

You don't even want to blog specifically about your products, you want to blog about the industry that you're in: what's going in your world, what are the new trends, where do you see the business going. Don't use your blog to directly market your products or services because people can smell that a mile away. Build your credibility by blogging often and passionately, respond to all of your comments and engage your readers, and good things will follow. You'll do more to market your business this indirect way than by trying to market your products directly on your blog.

Which brings me back to Murky: I don't know what's going on and I'd like to know something even if it's that you don't have any updates. It's just like being at the airport and the airline doesn't give you any updates on the status of your delayed flight. I don't care if you don't even know how long the delay is or what caused the delay (although secretly I think the airlines often do but it doesn't make them look good to be that transparent), just give me an update and acknowledge me.

Right now, I can't help but think of LCD Soundsystem's song "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down". Murky, I love you but you're bringing me down.

 

Murky Coffee in Capital Hill Shut Down

My brother came all the way from law school at Arizona State for a conference here in DC and there were two mandatory to-dos: get breakfast at Market Lunch in Eastern Market and get a classic cappuccino at Murky Coffee.

Ben loves Murky as much as I do so he was very sad to learn that the store was closed and he wouldn't get his Murky time on this trip.