Washingtonians of the Year

Washingtonian is taking nominations for the best of the beltway.

Leslie Milk:  Help Us Find Washingtonians of the Year

For more than 30 years, the Washingtonian of the Year awards have been the highest honor our community bestows on the people who make this a better place. The Washingtonian is looking for the 2010 Washingtonians of the Year. If you know of someone who is helping to build a better city and region, help us recognize his or her contribution. Please send us any information you think might be helpful, and include your name and phone number or e-mail address. Winners will be featured in the January 2011 issue of The Washingtonian and honored at a luncheon at the Willard InterContinental hotel.

Send or e-mail letters of nomination by September 30 to:

Washingtonians of the Year, The Washingtonian, 1828 L Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20046

Or email woy@washingtonian.com

Hostage Situation at Discovery Communications Building

Welcome to the wired world: Hostage Taking 2.0

Here’s a link to the gunman’s manifesto. That link is farked, try this one.

Live streaming [Fox 5 News]

And here’s a picture snapped by an employee:

UPDATE: The photo is a picture of a plainclothes officer – not the gunman.

UPDATE: Follow the Washingtonian’s Twitter feed for breaking news on this.

Pregnant Demons Having Tea with Glenn Beck

…perhaps that should be the name of our next rock band. [byt]

big h/t to Brightest Young Things

If I Ruled The World #NAS

I’d eat at Ben’s Chili Bowl everyday.

FamousDC Jim Billimoria

Roll Call’s photographer superstar Tom Williams snapped Jim Billimoria at the top of the Rotunda.

FamousDC September

George Alafoginis
Carly Baker
Freddy Barnes
Brendan Buck
Catalina Cabal
Liam Donovan
Natalie Grantham
Bettina Inclan
Alexa Marrero
Jesse Thomas

When Fantasy Football and the Iraq War Collide

Rick Klein

will be drafting fantasy FB while Tweeting Obama Iraq speech. if I draft David Petraeus, please excuse me in advance.

Bipartisan Fish Story

Reeled in from Mike Allen’s Playbook:

THE BIPARTISAN ADVENTURES of the DNC communications director and Boehner’s new-media director — @woodhouseb: “With @nickschaper. Were fishing the mouth of the Chester tearing them up. Headed home and ran out of gas. Waiting now for tow boat us. … @nickschaper and I got back across the bay at around 10:30. Never like to be stranded on the water – but this wasn’t a bad night for it.”

Happy Monday Morning

Did you take a private jet to Las Vegas and get arrested for cocaine possession? [Paris Hilton]

Do you think John Mayer could take Ryan Grim? [full of sh*t]

“OMG, there are so many of them here …” [Journolist]

Happy Monday.

Let’s rock this week.

Things Escalated Quickly

The Geosocial Universe @JESS3

The fine folks at JESS3 have been working to accurately depict the size of the key players in the geo / social space.

They released this earlier today:

Rantworthy: R.I.P. Tune Inn

Something on your mind? Need to Rant? Email famousdc@gmail.com

Tune Inn joins DC reality television craze, crushing hearts more than their mozzarella sticks

The successful opening of Chef Spike’s tourist-beloved We the Pizza and the Silk Road-length lines outside Georgetown Cupcake have proven that television celebrity can add cold hard cash to District businesses’ bottom lines in the otherwise unforgiving summer heat.

But one legendary Capitol Hill dive bar may have just eaten its own scrapple.

The Tune Inn, holder of the oldest liquor license in Washington, D.C. and celebrated for its gritty pretentiousness, recently re-branded itself after Food Network personality Guy Fieri following his April visit for the show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”

Menus, once crinkled and historied as a two dollar bill from your grandfather, now feature Fieri’s cartoon face recommending approved dishes of along with photos of him posing with staff and serving customers. The restaurant’s logo itself if now overlapped with a seal announcing that Fieri certifies these once hallowed walls as an “official dive.”

A giant poster of Fieri lurks outside of the bathrooms with an indignity that has made some regulars wish the urinals were relocated slightly below his trademark bleached blonde hair.

The move seems to contradict the image what one Yelp reviewer described as “a warm-welcomed refuge from the hectic, wannabe ‘trendiness’ of several other late night establishments in D.C.”

Ask the Tune Inn’s servers why the establishment re-branded from the unpretentious Capitol Hill watering hole where Congressmen sit in booths beside known vagrants in a mutual pursuit of a taste of home to a tourist-baiting trend based around one appearance by the winner of the “Next Food Network Star” show, and they seem perplexed themselves.

Once popularly known for walls covered in taxidermy animals, now the atmosphere is defined by the endorsement of a television personality who many current patrons would not have asked the opinion of in the first place.

Will Fieri’s endorsement lead to wrap-around lines of patrons waiting for ice cold cans of Natural Bohemian beer and scrapple hamburgers? How the change will affect the establishment’s regular clientele is yet to be determined, as the Tune Inn’s episode in “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” airs Sept. 16.

Politico Gods Shine Favor on Meredith Shiner

Meredith Shiner:

Today is the day the @politico gods are coming down and granting me a new BlackBerry. I have been waiting for this day forever.

Erin McPike’s Real Clear Politics

Congrats to Erin on her new gig with Real Clear Politics. Her first story showed up today.

Real Clear Politics: Portman Fine-Tunes Message in Key Senate Race

Nationals Protestors #Nats

h/t DCist

Congrats to Marc Ambinder

Marc Ambinder: After November, I’ll be joining National Journal as White House correspondent. A little less blogging, a lot more reporting. Very excited.

VandeHarris vs. Justin Smith

Have the Rex Ryan pep talks on Hard Knocks fired up the Politico folks?

Playbook put on its big boy pants and spent the weekend jacking people up.

On Sunday Playbook ran an advertisement (with no sponsor attribution to parent company Albritton) to pop Comcast and NBC:

** ADVERTISEMENT: A vast army of lobbyists is pushing hard to rush through the largest media merger in American history. The Comcast/NBC monopoly would present serious problems for local news in communities across our country. Washington’s decision makers must take the necessary time to carefully review this controversial merger to protect the public interest. **

And on Saturday, Playbook took a sly shot at Justin Smith’s huge hires at The Atlantic by calling the 153-year-old magazine “Atlantico”

Saturday’s Playbook:

LATEST FROM ATLANTICO – Ron Fournier: “I’m pleased to announce two more additions to our soon-to-be unified newsroom: Sue Davis of the Wall Street Journal and Fawn Johnson of the Dow Jones Newswires/Wall Street Journal. Sue will be one of two Congressional Correspondents for the National Journal Group, writing for the website and our print publications. She comes to National Journal Group from The Wall Street Journal, where she is the lead writer for the popular political blog, ‘Washington Wire.’ … Fawn Johnson will be General Assignment Correspondent, covering a range of issues including transportation and education. Johnson comes to National Journal from Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal, where she covered financial regulation and telecommunications.  This is a homecoming for both of our new colleagues. Earlier in her career, Fawn reported on health care, labor and immigration for CongressDaily. Sue previously worked for CongressDaily, covering the House, Senate, and campaign finance beats. Her first stint at National Journal Group began in the research department of the Almanac of American Politics. Please join me in welcoming them back.”

Get your popcorn.

Famous Friday [Round Up]

Happy Friday the 13th, Charlie Rangel filibustered the House, Andrew Sullivan likes to do druwings, thank you for teaching prostitutes to handle their booze, this calls for a leg kick, Chuck’s tired, Desiree Rogers got a new gig, Chinese prostitutes benefit from your pay check, photo entries are rolling in,  we love the Tune Inn, Erick Erickson vs. Michael Steele rumors continue to churn, Rick Klein will love this link, check this out Frates, wish Brad Dayspring good luck in the Jungle this weekend, Calvin & Hobbes database, Justin Smith making BIG moves: Sue Davis & Fawn Johnson are heading to National Journal, we would love to play for Rex Ryan, why celebrities should move to DC, Maegan Carberry would like to thank Eric Kuhn & Jessy Tolkan (hosts), Shana Glickfield, George Alafoginis, Megan Rollins, Kristin Soltis, Eric Zoberman, Blaise Nutter, Sara Haile Mariam and others who braved a torrential downpour, flooding and power outages to celebrate her 30th birthday last night!, Chris Paulitz brokered a cowpool between Stuart Roy, Shannon Flaherty and Blain Rethmeier on Facebook, and congrats to Jaclyn and Kevin Madden on their new baby boy.

Fitness Friday by @sarahstanley

If you were affected by the MASSIVE thunderstorm yesterday, otherwise know as #demonWeather you were not alone! The safest (and quickest) way to get to your destination was to run, walk, crawl or row your way there. In fact you may have needed a flashlight it was so dark! I was tempted to write about “Training in the Dark”

Part of living a healthy life is to make sure you are getting vitamins and minerals in your body needs in order to function. Three major ones are D, and B complex, Calcium. Each of these play a critical role in helping you fight illness, fatigue and stress.

Vitamin D. Technically its not a vitamin. But we all call it Vitamin D, so for the sake of this post we will stick w/ what people know. People typically know that Vitamin D comes from the Sun (beach anyone?) and milk, and assume they are getting enough. But most of us don’t spend hours in the sun nor do we drink 50 glasses of milk- A DAY. A lack of Vitamin D has been linked to heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, periodontal disease, and more.The best way is to get a blood test to see if you are deficient.

B Complex. This is also known as Stress B Complex, because Vitamin B is more then just one B. It is B1, B2, B3, etc. B complex helps manage stress. It also helps support and increase metabolism, maintain healthy skin and muscle tone, support the immune & nervous system. Stay away from processed foods (that would mean cupcakes:)). Eat whole wheat pasta, potatoes, peppers, beans, turkey and tune. B12 is not found in a vegan diet, so make sure you take a supplement

Calcium. This is another important mineral to make sure you get in your diet. You don’t just need Calcium for strong bones and healthy teeth, but to ensure proper functioning of muscles and nerves. Did you know it even helps your blood clot? Beside the usual suspects like milk, cheese and yogurt, try eating broccoli, kale, okra (this is one of my favorite veggies!!!) and even nuts.

So thanks to the storms, this weekend should be cooler. Which means there is no reason not to get out and sweat outdoors! Try kayaking on the Potomac. Ride your bike on the Mount Vernon Trail. Do yoga with a friend on the Mall (and because we live in DC we know that doesn’t mean the shopping mall:)). Get up and be active!

Have a great weekend! And take your vitamins like Sarah told you to

Sarah Stanley is a sarcastic ultra marathoner who enjoys running, yoga and dreaming of visiting Australia. Follow her on Twitter @sarahstanley or visit www.sarahstanleyinspired.com

Happy Wednesday @Wale

Congress is gone again.

Now we’re all back to Chillin’

How Nancy Pelosi’s Tweet Ruined August Vacation By: @FamousDC and @JESS3

Tomorrow, the U.S. House of Representatives will reconvene because of one single tweet.

This 140 character message, not only ruined thousands of August vacations, but will cost staffers and members thousands of dollars when it’s all said and done.

With the help from FamousDC, the fine folks at JESS3 illustrated how this Tweet rocketed around the Interwebs.

Download the high resolution version.

Monica Hesse Deserves Pulitzer

Monica took what might have been a pretty ridiculous assignment and turned it into something wonderful.

She transformed a fringe Republican Gubernatorial candidacy into a 962-word think-piece on the intersection of politics, the Internet and Napoleon Dynamite.

WaPo: Basil Marceaux lost his race, but on Web he won place in public imagination

Bill Haslam, the current mayor of Knoxville, won Thursday’s Republican nomination for Tennessee governor. Marceaux will fade into the annals of Internet memes, leaving everyone to speculate just what he had against gold fringe. And to eagerly await the next vessel into which we may pour our collective ironic support.

Vote for Pedro? Nay, Vote for Basil.

FamousDC salutes Monica Hesse and can’t wait for your next piece.

Her Arnold Schwarzenegger kicker:

He’ll be back, or someone like him — perhaps someone who has been groomed and stage-managed to precisely this level of outlandishness. The Web will be waiting with open arms.

Basil Marceaux will be back.

Famous Friday [Round Up]

DC Summer Interns are on Twitter,  Pete Snyder & Mike Madden celebrated birthdays, Rick Klein drinks famous coffee, Twitter ruined August vacation, another terrible storm in DC, political dish always tastes better with a touch of Basil, should we give Courtney Kolb a mug?, American Recovery project now building portable toilets, Dave Tate loves bagels, JESS3 had a brainstorm session with FamousDC, God is mad Congress is coming back, Charlie didn’t have a good week, are you cut out to be President?, we should have jet packs Mr. Frates, and tell Matt Dornic happy birthday tomorrow.

Guess Who’s Turning 30?

Now there is time and Time is young.
~ May Sarton

Be sure to tell Mr. Matt Dornic Happy Birthday tomorrow.

Closing Bell: This is not Saturday Night Live, Al

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton:McConnell scolds Franken for making faces from dais during his speech

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) scolded Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) on the Senate floor Thursday for allegedly mocking him while he delivered a solemn speech on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.

Holy Thunderstorm #DC

Obviously God is mad about Congress coming back next week.

Hold on to your hats. It looks like the End of Days could be upon us.

Please send any storm pics to famousDC@gmail.com and we’ll add them to this post.

Live view of the storm, from the Senate side of Capitol Hill. (h/t – Jamie Dupree)

Titled: Low-rider [Delray area]

Titled: Bradrocked [Braddock St. Metro]

Titled: Parallel Bark [Taken in Old Town.]

Titled: The Approach [Taken near National Airport]

Congressional Staff Making It Rain in the Blogosphere

POLITICO’s Gloria Park: Next D.C. Career: Blogger Relations

Michelle Malkin, a conservative blogger and author, credited staff at The Heritage Foundation, minority staff at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Senate Judiciary Committee and House Homeland Security Committee and staff in the offices of Rep. John Boehner and Sen. Tom Coburn with excellent blogger management.

“There are some staffers who make the mistake of spamming bloggers with press releases that are not blogworthy,” said Malkin. “What distinguishes the good outreach is having information that hasn’t already gone out to POLITICO, the wires and everybody else. They understand the power of the collective conservative blogosphere and target not just the highest-traffic bloggers but also the second- and third-tier bloggers.”

Famous Birthday Wishes #GetYourPopcorn

Tell Pete Snyder happy birthday.

Also be sure to tell him you’re sorry in advance for the Eagles upcoming season.

And despite what some people think — we don’t work for Mr. Snyder.

Rick Klein Takes His Coffee Famous

Mr. Rick Klein of ABC News is known to be quite the collector. Now he has a FamousDC mug to add to his impressive baseball card collection.

C-SPAN, Page Six JESS3, and now ABC News

Where will the next FamousDC mug show up?

PREVIOUS: Extreme Famous Morning Coffee

PREVIOUS: Page Six Famous Morning Coffee

PREVIOUS: Jess3 Takes Their Coffee Famous

Speaker of the House 2.0 @SpeakerPelosi

Just as the Founding Fathers imagined …

Speaker Pelosi just reconvened the U.S. House of Representatives via a Tweet.

Speaker Pelosi:

I will be calling the House back into session early next week to save teachers’ jobs and help seniors & children

Blackberry updates are ruining August vacations at beaches across the country.

And Biz Stone’s head is likely exploding.

UPDATE: Congressional Twitter Wars: Pelosi vs. Boehner

House Republican Leader Boehner Tweeted out his own version of the House’s Summer School Session.

GOP Leader:

It’s official: Dems to call House back on Tuesday to pass more “stimulus” spending, “paid for” with new job-killing tax on U.S. job creators

Screen on the Green season ends with a bang right through the heart

This final film of this year’s Screen on the Green season, Bonnie and Clyde, ended in a bloody hail of bullets that forever snuffed out the hopes and aspirations of a young couple finding happiness the only way they could during an economically depressed time.

Throughout the evening it was not difficult to imagine the audience’s own collective fantasies of teaming up with that charming new intern down the hallway for their own Metro line bandit spree, but like the aspirations of many in this our own economic depression HBO took this opportunity to remind us what our colleagues, parents and religious leaders have echoed for months: dream no farther or eat lead.

Each year the Screen on the Green season is awaited in rapt anticipation, the historic scene of hundreds of perfect first dates and hard-earned wine buzzes along the National Mall. And each year despite the valiant efforts of everyday heroes like Jesse Rauch the number of films decreases and fans are forced to realize that they are never as attractive in real life as they are Monday nights after dusk in the summertime.

Efforts are already underway the rescue the 2011 season, as to dream about the lineup of the next film series is not unlike our dreams for a better tomorrow for us all.

Perhaps we’ll enjoy The Muppet Movie and that new job.

Maybe we’ll find both Amelie on the schedule as well as a new love.

Or maybe things will just continue as they are, and the only film next year will also be the internal narrative of your daily commute, Michael Douglas’ Falling Down.

Fans can act now by visiting Save Screen on the Green and making a difference on Capitol Hill that truly matters.

Drink With the California Staff Delegation to help the Gulf Coast

Cruise by the Ugly Mug with the California Staff Delegation tonight — and raise money to help clean up the Gulf Coast.

Here’s the Facebook invite.

Guest bartenders: Bret Manley & Yuri Beckelman

@JESS3 Takes Their Coffee Famous

C-SPAN, Page Six and now JESS3.

Leslie Bradshaw:

Talking big things with THE @FamousDC. Look for @JESS3 partnership awesomeness soon. #fdc http://twitpic.com/2begp9

Where will the next FamousDC mug show up?

PREVIOUS: Extreme Famous Morning Coffee

PREVIOUS: Page Six Famous Morning Coffee

Birthday Reminder: Barack’s Telepromter

Be sure to wish Barack’s Telepromter a Happy Birthday tomorrow.

According to one tipster’s FB feed, BT turns 49 on Wednesday.

No Editor Will Edit This Washington Post Contributor’s Copy

From the release:

The Washington Post Announces LaVar Arrington as New Sports Contributor

The Washington Post will add former Washington Redskins All-Pro linebacker LaVar Arrington to the ranks of its sports commentators later this month. Arrington will write a blog on sports topics that will be featured on washingtonpost.com. He also will be a regular contributor to sports video commentary on the site and be a panelist on the Post’s weekly Redskins webcast.

“I love the people of Washington, D.C., and now, teaming up with the Washington Post, I will have the largest platform I have ever had in staying connected with the true sports fans in the Washington area,” Arrington said. “Being part of the Washington Post is almost as exciting as it was when I joined the Washington Redskins. I’m poised to give new and interesting perspectives on D.C. sports.”

Arrington, who played college football at Penn State, was the second player selected overall in the 2000 NFL draft when he was picked by the Redskins. He was selected to the Pro Bowl three times in his six-year career in Washington. He played one season for the New York Giants before his retirement. Arrington hosts a radio show on 106.7 FM The Fan weekdays from 2 to 7 p.m., and a weekly sports show on WDCW (Channel 50).

“I think Washington Post readers will find LaVar to be a refreshing, lively commentator on the region’s sports scene,” said Matthew Vita, the Post sports editor. “He gives us a new perspective, that of someone who has actually competed in sports at the highest level.”

Election Season is Here @NRCC

Do you think this caused any heartache between Jennifer Crider and Ken Spain?

Shira Toeplitz on Fire

Election season is heating up and the hill journos are in high demand.

Shira Toeplitz:

After my WJLA hit at 11pm, I will have done TV hits on 3 networks/ affiliates today: WJLA-ABC, MSNBC and CBS. Welcome to campaign season!

We  wanted to give Shira some positive coverage before the NFL season starts. It must be tough to be a Steelers fan these days.

FamousDC – August

Erin Branham
Alyssa Cordova
Drew Curtis
Kimba Green
Melissa Harrison
Lawrence Prather
Stuart Roy
Steph Sears
Tiffany Sellers
Mike Shupp

Famous Friday [Round Up]

Chris Frates is on Twitter, Kara Rowland is not a John Mayer fan, did you think things were quiet this weekend?,  so hot in herre, we welcome our new mice overlords, Obama is heading to the Gulf Coast, Is hilltern.com, Matt Zabel was on Target, figgity phat, eat before the #Caps game, Meet Jess3, separated at birth John Bresnahan and Samuel O’Connor, Cathy Weatherford on her A-game, did it seem a lot quieter around DC this week?,three years ago today Marty Kady joined some funny named start-up, Christiane Amanpour debuted on ABC, congrats to Sara Diaz, stay in shape this weekend with Sarah Stanley, Alan Grayson the movie went straight to DVD, Glenn Thrush fedora spotted on the hill, Snooki-Gate, and go drink Peroni tomorrow night and get a shirt that fits.

MOËT & CHANDON Host The ROSÉ Lounge

We were pleasantly surprised when we checked our inbox and saw that FamousDC was invited to an exclusive, champagne soiree featuring Moet’s Nectar Imperial Rosé. For those unfamiliar with Moet, it is the stuff that B.I.G sips at the back of the club, naturally.

The party was hosted on the rooftop of the Hotel Liason at Capitol Hill.  Rooftop party + Moet? Would one of our nights resemble a late 90’s rap video? Well yes, as a matter of fact, it sort of did.

There was a DJ spinning some solid tunes, excellent food and an amazing crowd. Most importantly, there were two bars that were pouring an endless supply of Moet’s Rose and Brut Imperial. There really isn’t much more to say than we understand why this stuff makes appearances in every rap video from Snoop to Wale.  Although we are a far cry from the reviewers at Wine Spectator, we give Moet a top-notch rating.  Moet, whether drank out of a champagne glass or mixed with ice, is the perfect way to end a hot day in D.C.

Amidst the bottles popping and people grooving, we sat down with Keith Howard, Senior Brand Manager for Moet, who gave us the lowdown on some of the events Moet is putting on, like sponsoring the Oscars. From talking to him, we are certain he has one of the best jobs in America, and he got it without having to “put in his dues” giving Capitol Tours!

Thanks to Keith and Moet for putting on such a stellar event. You guys have managed to raise the bar for the free D.C reception. Note to trade associations: just because it is a widely attended event, doesn’t mean you have to serve Andre’s.

The party was still raging as we made our exit. After a champagne fueled walk home, we reached in the fridge and grabbed one of the roommate’s Miller High Lifes. Although it may be dubbed “The Champagne of Beers”, it is obvious that their marketing team wasn’t talking about Moet.

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